


Tempo Rubato

by ranchelle



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Timeline, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Classical piano music, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Some inaccurate references to Norse mythology and lore, mentions of mpreg, some kissing and making out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-27
Updated: 2014-10-27
Packaged: 2018-02-22 20:35:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2520920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ranchelle/pseuds/ranchelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>The first time Thor caught sight of Loki, he saw a face of a man about to cry: his eyes were looking far out to the dark waters under the yellow lamplight and his knuckles were trembling as they gripped the steel railings, and from his slightly parted lips, his breath was white in the cold; every warm breath he gave away was one warm breath less to holding him together.</i>
</p><p>Summary : In order to save the world from ending, Loki becomes a pianist.</p><p>Loki is a pianist and Thor is a barista. This takes place a few years after the first Avengers movie. Classical music, coffee and children included.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tempo Rubato

**Tempo Rubato**

 

 _rubato (ru_   _ːˈ_   _b_   _ɑː_   _t_   _ə_   _ʊ_   _) music_

_1\. (Classical Music) flexibility of tempo in performance_

_[from the Italian phrase tempo rubato, literally: stolen time, from rubare to rob]_

_Collins English Dictionary_

 

* * *

 

The first time Thor caught sight of Loki, he saw a face of a man about to cry: his eyes were looking far out to the dark waters under the yellow lamplight and his knuckles were trembling as they gripped the steel railings, and from his slightly parted lips, his breath was white in the cold; every warm breath he gave away was one warm breath less to holding him together.

"Don't jump," said Thor.

Loki turned. Their eyes met.

"The water's too cold for swimming, and..." Thor paused, fumbling for a reason.

Loki's mouth quirked upwards, raised his brows and lifted up a finger to his own lips, telling Thor to stop talking.  
  
"Don't say that," grinned Loki. "You make me almost want to care."

"Pardon?"

"At ease...stranger. I was merely lost in my thoughts," said Loki, turning once more to look out to the sea.

It was a long moment before Thor realised he could no longer read the face of this man before him.

"So, is everything all right?" asked Thor.

"As always," said Loki. He took a pair of thin leather gloves from his coat pocket and put them on methodically, the precision in his movements belied nothing of the shivering chill Thor saw in the man a moment ago.

"I own a coffee joint a little back down the road if you need to warm up," offered Thor.

"No," said Loki as he pulled up his collar, then turned his head to give Thor an appreciative nod, "but thank you." 

 

* * *

 

Loki had not expected to see Thor the following night. He rolled his eyes as the tall barista walked over to his table and smiled down at him.

"Hey," said the busybody.

"Yes?"

"Can I take your order?"

"I believe it's self-service in here," said Loki, leaning back on his chair and folding his arms, the fingers on his left drumming impatiently against his right arm. Thor noticed a gold ring on Loki's ring finger.

"Just this once," grinned Thor.

"You're not getting tips from me," preempted Loki.

"One hot chocolate it is, then. You look like you could do with something sweet."

"You are a bold one."

"On the house," said Thor, making his way back to the counter in a well-practised manner despite his large, muscular build. His much smaller colleague, whose head barely reached his chest, was less experienced and bumped into a chair on her way to clean the front tables.

"I'm Thor," he said, when he came back to Loki, steaming mug in hand. "And you are?"

"Leaving," replied Loki, carefully putting on a look of displeasure as he stood up to leave.

Once Loki got into a cab, he broke into giggles. The look of shock and hurt on Thor when he was so brazenly rejected was absolutely delightful.

"Where to?" asked the cabbie.

"The General Hospital," said Loki, the words sinking his smile almost as soon as it surfaced.

As soon as he pushed through the glass doors of the hospital, he tucked his removed gloves into his coat pocket. He reached for the bottle provided at the entrance to the medical wards and rubbed the alcohol carefully into his skin in smooth, practised motions.

He then pushed open the door to a private room at the end of the hall. A little girl looked up from her Kindle.

"Hello, daddy," she said.

 

* * *

 

"Did I do something wrong?" asked Thor, pulling out a chair and straddling it.

"Huh?" said Darcy as she put away the dishcloth. "Still moping about that guy who blew you off just now? Maybe he just had a bad day."

"Hmm," shrugged Thor.

"Maybe he'll be here tomorrow. He was here almost every day last week," said Darcy as she flipped the "Open" sign over at the door.

"Really? How did I miss him?"

"Remember how your landlord kept calling you out over the rent last week?"

"Oh," recalled Thor.

"What's the deal with him anyway?" asked Darcy.

"I just keep thinking I've seen him before," said Thor, rubbing his chin in thought.

"You looked like a kicked puppy when he was leaving," grinned Darcy. "So he's your type, huh?"

It was not a cold night but Darcy pulled on her knitted hat. It kept her hair out of her face, and she needed her face not to itch so she could walk straight home with her hands uninterrupted in her pockets, a finger stuck on her iPod.

Thor shook his head, "it's not like that!"

"Riiiight." Darcy took a folded pamphlet from her bag and set it on the table beside Thor. "Here, I got this during lunch break."

"What is it?" asked Thor as he turned the pamphlet in his hands. He opened it and looked through, the program and names all foreign to him.

"There's this Christmas concert by the local orchestra next month," said Darcy.

"And?"

"I saw him talking to the conductor a while back," winked Darcy. "Maybe you could start your detective work there."

She plugged her ears and her whole universe into her iPod and left Thor to close up for the night by himself.

Thor sighed. His petite employee always seemed to have a language of her own even though he was sure he understood everything she had said at face level. Did she just imply he should ask the man to the concert?

He locked the door and closed the shutters of the little cafe and tucked the keys into his pocket. His rented place wasn't too far from here. The chill on the air nipped at his nose, waking his thoughts. He took a little detour to the bridge where he first saw the stranger. He knew they were unlikely to meet at this late hour but he could not get the mysterious stranger's face out of his mind.

He was honestly surprised when he did see the stranger there again, looking over the railing, this time dressed in a suit with a scarf pulled tight around his neck.

"Evening," Thor tried. This time, he did not stand too close, hoping to give the man more personal space. Which meant Thor placed himself a whole foot away from him. It felt like the right distance between them, despite whatever Darcy might think.

"You again," said Loki, not flinching a bit as Thor invaded his personal space.

"It's cold out here."

"Stating the obvious? How charming."

"Are you cold?" continued Thor, even though Loki's sarcasm stung a little.

"I like the cold."

"But your nose is turning blue," said Thor, and quickly followed up with, "I like blue."

"Lovely," said Loki, turning to Thor and looking rather amused, to Thor's relief. "Do you have business with me or will you be on your way now?"

"Oh, um, this," said Thor, doing some quick thinking and pulling the pamphlet out of his pocket. "There's a concert next month on Christmas eve and I thought you might be interested."

"Are you..." Loki paused to think of the right phrase, "hitting on me?"

"No! Why would you think I'm-" began Thor, and then went silent when he realised it may have came out like that. Quick thinking was definitely not working for him, Thor cursed inwardly.

"You look like you might like this sort of music. I hear the local orchestra isn't too bad."

"I will be busy," said Loki, who did not bother to cast his eyes on the pamphlet. Instead, his gaze was locked on Thor's face as if studying it as he continued, "and besides, the local orchestra seems rather lacking in...well, everything."

"Perhaps they are not very good, but there is no need to be so harsh. It is a charity concert after all," said Thor, frowning.

"And does doing it for charity excuse a poor performance?" sneered Loki.

Thor scratched his chin. "Are you angry at them?"

It was Loki's turn to be surprised.

"No, I-" He caught himself before he slipped further. "I am not angry at anyone."

"You're not angry at me? I thought I must have hit a nerve or done something wrong," said Thor, relieved.

"Why would you think that?" Loki was genuinely curious now.

"I'm new to this coffee business," smiled Thor. "I certainly would not want to lose a regular such as yourself."

"A regular already? It has barely been a week," said Loki.

"You still look like you could use a hot drink."

There was a small crack in Loki's icy tone as he folded his arms and leveled his eyes at Thor's.

"You should not be so friendly with everyone, Thor," he said, and left it at that.

* * *

 

Back at his apartment, Loki hung up his coat and scarf and knelt to untie his shoes, putting them neatly in the shoe rack. He walked, barefoot and silent into the illuminated living room where his eldest son, all wrapped up in a blanket, sat on the couch with the television broadcasting a soccer match.

"Sleipnir," said Loki.

"Hey, dad," said Sleipnir, a young man too tall for his age. He stuck his leg out from under the blanket and nudged over a pair of fuzzy slippers.

"You should wear these. Frozen toes are the worst thing ever," said Sleipnir.

"And you should be sleeping," said Loki, leaning over and ruffling his son's hair.

"After the match? It's ending soon," pleaded Sleipnir.

"As long as you can get up for school tomorrow on your own," said Loki. 

He had hung up his suit, taken a hot shower and was about to turn off his room lights when the phone rang.

Sleipnir jumped to his feet, blanket still around his shoulders, when he saw his father hastily button up a shirt and shrugged on a coat.

"Was that the hospital?"

Loki nodded. "Hela developed an allergic reaction to her medication. I have to go down and check with the doctors."

"Shall I go with you?"

"You stay home. I don't know if I can be back by morning," said Loki.

"All right," said Sleipnir.

On seeing Loki's tired smile, he squeezed Loki's arm and promised him that Fen and Jorm would get to school in one piece in the morning. No longer having the mood to see the result of the match, Sleipnir turned the television off and headed back to his room for another restless night of sleep, one that would prepare him for a day filled with equally restless younger brothers.

 

* * *

 

The doctor had finished checking on Hela and was waiting for Loki's arrival to inform him of their options. Hela was unevenly covered in angry looking hives from head to toe; the discoloured parts of her skin a warzone of colourful bruises and festering rashes. The doctor explained she was experiencing some internal swelling as well. Her throat was swollen and she had breathing difficulties, but it eased when he administered an antihistamine.

The bigger problem now was her newly developed allergy to the current medicine she was taking. He told Loki they were running out of options. There was another treatment available on hand, but the side effects were unknown. The doctor advised Loki to agree as they were running out of options.

"I would like it if you explain to Hela the treatment you are recommending, and ask her for her consent," said Loki.

"With all due concern, Mr Lauson, she's very young. What she wants may not be best for her," protested the doctor.

"She has always made her own decisions," said Loki.

The doctor shook his head and left the room. Loki could hear the doctor grumble to a nurse outside the door about ignorant parents ruining their children's chances. He knew the doctor was being perfectly reasonable: children usually do not make rational decisions, but Hela was no ordinary child.

Hela made a little wheezing sound as she pushed herself up to a sitting position. Loki arranged the pillow behind her back and pulled the blanket up to her chest.

"The doctor asks if you want to try a new cocktail of pills," said Loki.

"They won't help," croaked Hela, her voice all but gone.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like someone rubbed sandpaper all over my skin and under it. It itches and burns."

Loki went over to his bag, took out a small ashwood disc and a small leather pouch from his briefcase. He pulled a chair over to Hela's side and sat down, taking a blade out from the pouch and started carving.

Hela would raise a brow, but her facial muscles felt too swollen and sore to move.

"There's a rune for that?" said Hela, more air than sound to her words.

"There are runes for just about everything," grinned Loki. "I know a rune that makes one attractive to pigeons when worn."

"It looks hideous. Do not make me wear it," Hela muttered.

"This rune should work in water," said Loki, as he scooped up the wood shavings, walked over to open the door to the bathroom and flushed them down the toilet. He ran the water for the bath and tossed the disc in, testing the water's temperature with his hand.

Hela shifted over until her legs dangled off the bed.

"I do not require this anymore," said Hela, pointing to the IV stand. "Have one of the nurses to remove it entirely."

The nurse needed no coaxing. Hela was compliant most of the time, but when she decides on something, she would have her way. She hadn't been in this hospital long, but the nurses and doctor knew she would not hesitate to calmly rip the catheter from her arm if no one acceded to her request. She would also give a wicked little smile as she bled freely from her arm to show she feared nothing.

Loki was secretly proud of her.

He helped her off the bed and allowed her to make her own way to the bathroom. She barely came up to Loki's waist, but her determination was regal and staunch. Loki helped her with her pajamas buttons and went to sit back down on the chair, pulling out a stack of loosely bound scores from his briefcase to look at while she bathed, leaving the bathroom door slightly ajar so he could hear if she required assistance.

"I feel better," came Hela's soft voice from the bathroom as the warm enchanted water eased her itching. It became easier to breathe as the healing water slowly subsided her welting rashes until they were but red patches flat on her skin.

"I'm afraid this is all I can do for now," said Loki. "I can hardly feel my  _seidr_ here."

"My soul is trying to return to Hel but my body is trapped here. I am a living corpse in pain. You should not have brought me here."

"Would it appease you if I said you took out half my intestines with you when I birthed you? Even Sleipnir, I recall, with all his kicking, left my innards intact."

"Twisting your guts makes us barely even," hissed Hela. "I hate you."

"I love you too, my little Queen."

Loki smiled as he wrapped her in a large towel. He took her hand and passed her what little  _seidr_ he could muster. It was enough to heal the few puncture wounds on her arm and wrist on her good arm, where the skin was still pink with life. The other side of her was covered with patches of discoloured skin, the muscles and organs beneath weakening each day. His magic had very little effect on the parts of her that were on the way to Niflheim.

"I have had enough of Midgardian medicine. They no longer work on me. I shall go home with you tomorrow," said Hela. And her word was law.

 

* * *

 

Sleipnir could not miss his father even if he wanted to. Tall and sharply dressed in a tailored suit, Loki stood out in the crowd of high-schoolers.

"Sleipnir," said Loki.

"Is it too much to hope that you're here to bring me lunch?" said Sleipnir, opening his locker and taking the books for his next class. If he was lucky, perhaps he could persuade his father to dress down the next time he decided to drop by, or perhaps not come at all. There was the option of giving him a cell phone. Odin's beard, this was the 21st century! By the way, what was the latest Starkphone model--

"Hela's coming home today."

The words snapped Sleipnir out of his thoughts. He stopped what he was doing and looked at Loki.  
  
"Is it time?  
  
Loki nodded. The teen started to empty his locker, stuffing as much as he could into his bag. There were books, files, stationery, spare shirts and a towel. What did not go into the young man's bag went into his lanky arms. Loki peered into the locker and saw a photo of the school's athletics team taped onto the inside of the door. Sleipnir peeled it off and slipped it into the pages of one of the textbooks in his arms.

"Let's get the papers done," said the teen, leading the way to the principal's office.

"I'm sorry," Loki said, in a soft voice.

That was the last day of high school for Sleipnir.

 

* * *

 

It was another evening of rehearsal at the concert hall. Only the strings, oboes and horns turned up today since it was the piano concerto rehearsal. Most of them had work elsewhere since they were not a well-paid orchestra. The players were tuning their instruments and engaging in idle chatter while waiting for the conductor who was running late.

"Why can't we do Rachmaninov? Everyone loves the No. 2," said the oboist.

"It's Christmas! Gruber should play some Liberace to spice things up," said an elderly double-bass player.

"You kidding? It's like asking Oscar the grouch to fart rainbows," laughed the horn player, a young man fresh out of music college.

"He  _is_ a little on the stiff side," agreed another violinist, "and his repertoire is quite limited."

"The Mozart Piano Concerto in C Major we're playing isn't so bad," said the concert-master.

"He makes it sound like a dirge," whined the young man.

"Hey," said a woman who just came into the hall, "I overheard our conductor outside panicking over the phone outside. I think our pianist isn't going to make it today again. Or ever."

"If he's pulling out on us a month before the concert, I am going to kill him," said the concert master.

"Sounds like that might be it, seeing how livid our conductor is," replied the woman.

It was another fifteen minutes before the conductor finally walked in, accompanied by a tall stranger.

"I have some announcements to make," said the conductor, clearing his throat for attention as he stood before the half-ready orchestra. "As you know, our pianist, Mr Gruber, has been missing our rehearsals as of late. From now on, Mr Lauson will be taking his place and performing with us."

The concert-master stood up and extended her hand in greeting.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr Lauson. I hope we will work well together."

"Oh, the pleasure is definitely yours," said Loki as he shook her hand.

* * *

 

The rehearsal ended without incident. Everyone was too easily satisfied with an average performance, thought Loki. He decided to take it easy and left an hour before the three-hour rehearsal ended. When he got bored, he made an off-hand comment about his children during a break. The orchestra then insisted he go home early to them, that they could practise their other pieces.

With time to spare before picking up Hela, Loki walked from the hall to the bridge where he first met Thor. A little way down the street from the bridge was the familiar cafe he had come to love for its lack of decor, music and variety in menu. He liked being able to order a coffee and not have to choose between pies and cakes because they had only muffins. This meant their customers were mostly the unrowdy sort. There was nothing exciting around here: a writer on a laptop and a few students studying quietly at the corner tables, all of them here for the cheap coffee.

"Hmmmph?" said Darcy at the counter, busy chewing gum.

"A double espresso, please," said Loki, drumming his fingers on the counter as he waited.

"Mm-mm."

Loki really appreciated Darcy's lack of questions.

Just when he thought he could enjoy a quiet moment by himself, Thor emerged from the storeroom next to the counter with carton of cream.

So Thor was in today, thought Loki. Although he found teasing the clueless barista to be fun, he was too tired for anything right now.

"A little late in the day for something so strong," commented Thor as he watched Darcy serve up the coffee.

Loki gave a non-committal snort and took a far seat facing away from the counter.

Thor did not show signs of remembering anything, as expected. Loki sometimes wished Thor could at least remember why he was here. It might make him feel better, or worse, if the oaf decided to help and bungle up the whole plan. Still, it was getting a little lonely doing everything by himself while Thor looked so happy playing at being Midgardian. Ignorance was bliss, thought Loki, feeling as bitter as the unsweetened coffee in his cup.

Thor, thankfully, seemed to pick up Loki's unwillingness for small talk and left him alone.

Loki closed his eyes and took in the sounds of the place: the occasional clinking of spoon against ceramic, coffee dispensing from the machine, water from the tap, the soft conversation between Darcy and Thor when there was a lull in business.

In a matter of minutes, he found himself relaxed and nodding off to sleep. The calmness of this place was much too conducive to sleep. He swallowed the rest of the still warm coffee, hoping this much caffeine would somehow do its job, and left for the hospital. 

 

* * *

  

Loki had barely any sleep that night. Fenrir was bouncing with excitement over Hel being back and would not stop trying to lick her face, saying it would help her heal faster. Jormungandr wanted to cook her something and put an egg in the microwave. That didn't go too well. Loki had to sit both boys down and had Hela tell them to keep quiet.  
  
"Why they so eagerly obey you is something I have yet to comprehend," Loki said to Hela, who regally waved him away.  
  
By the next day, Sleipnir was no better than Loki, having to single-handedly take care of Fenrir and Jormungandr, making sure they ate their meals and did their homework while Loki was out.

There was a room in the house at the end of the hall, carpeted and heavily draped with curtains to dampen the sound when Loki needed to practise deep into the night. It was a night like any other. His children were too excited to sleep and gathered around as he played the piano, who deliberately lightened his touch to make his choice of quiet music quieter. A second  _nocturne_ followed the first one, the light, repetitive accompaniment a steady rhythm like the swaying of a cradle. Hela and Sleipnir were reclined on the generous couch that lined the side of the wall while Fenrir and Jormungandr completed a small pillow fort on the floor next to them.  
  
Hela and Sleipnir were asleep in minutes. It took longer to get Fenrir and Jormungandr to give in, but they eventually let themselves be lulled by the music and were asleep before the third piece ended. What worked today may not work tomorrow. They loved variety and, like himself, would not stand for boredom. He mentally made a note to play something else tomorrow night. Perhaps Chopin's  _Berceuse_ would do. Loki put away the scores of John Field's nocturnes and closed the piano.

Tired as he was, Loki carried the children to their rooms one by one and tucked them into bed. To have them so close by, within his reach, for him to hold and kiss good night and tell them he cared--he had always cared--was something he had never thought he could have.

They were worth punishment, banishment, and anything Asgard could throw at him. Every day was a torture with his magic sealed away but they saved, and were still saving him from a madness that continuously gnawed at him. If it came down to it, he consoled himself, they were worth ending the world for.

 

* * *

 

_Loki plays some of John Field's Nocturnes for his children as lullabies._

[_http://youtu.be/YjXxT8ca4PA_  ](http://youtu.be/YjXxT8ca4PA) _is a link to youtube to Field's Nocturne no. 2 in C Minor e molto espressivo_

_Chopin made nocturnes famous, but John Field invented them. The definition of the Nocturne is "a single-movement character piece usually written for solo piano" "inspired by, or evocative of, the night" (Wikipedia). They tend to be quiet, and in Chopin's case, melancholic. Field's nocturnes tend to be pleasant and not as dramatic (and emo) as Chopin's._

_A Berceuse is a lullaby, in this case, it's Chopin's Berceuse D-flat major Op.57_   _<http://youtu.be/rzUAkfjDxG0>_

 

* * *

  

It was a week later before Thor saw Loki again.

Loki did not even make it to the counter. He all but slumped at a table near the wall, resting his chin on the heel of his hand, elbow propped on the table, eyes half-lidded as he suppressed a yawn.

"You look tired," commented Thor, a big smile on his face, too glad to see Loki back.

"Something sweet would be nice," mumbled Loki.

"How about a caramel latte?" suggested Thor.

Loki nodded, and when Thor returned with the latte, Loki had buried his face in the crook of his folded arms resting on the table.

"Hey," said Thor, putting the latte down.

"Loki," said Loki, pulling away reluctantly from the table so he could have his coffee. "My name is Loki."

"It suits you," Thor gave him a lop-sided grin.

"Of course. I'm Loki Silvertongue, God of Mischief."

"Well then, Loki," smiled Thor. "have a coffee on the house."

Loki felt patronised. Even without his memories, Thor still managed use a cup of coffee to make him feel like the lesser man.

"You're behind too much rent to be generous," said Darcy, as she turn the sign at the door to 'closed'. "It's ten. I'm off."

Darcy's words on Thor's predicament made Loki feel a little better. He looked at the time on his watch and frowned. Was it this late already? The rehearsal ended at nine-thirty but he always skipped out early. Perhaps he hadn't left as early as he thought he did.

"It's okay," said Thor, cleaning up the mugs and dishes, "you can stay as long as you like."

"Do you not need to go home?" asked Loki.

"I stay here now," said Thor, slightly embarrassed. "Couldn't afford to to pay rent for two places."

Thor, the mighty god of thunder unable to pay rent and sleeping in the storeroom of a mediocre cafe he runs. If only Odin could see his favourite son like this. It was like seeing a monkey fall off a tree, and he laughed. And laughed.

"Come on, it's not that funny," said Thor, pouting.

"It is," said Loki, breaking into another fit of giggles when he saw Thor's face. "And it has made my day."

"So," said Thor, changing the topic untactfully, "what do you do for a living?"

"Not much," said Loki. "I smith lies."

"Smith lies?"

"Twenty a line. It's not too shabby."

Loki spoke in riddles, thought Thor, and asked, "Are you a writer?"

"I'm a lie-smith," said Loki. "I tell people stories of the wonderful music the local orchestra makes, how lovely the sea-wind smells in these parts, how well-lit and clean the streets are and how amazing your coffee is."

"Why do you keep picking on me?" said Thor, getting a little annoyed. "What did I ever do to you?"

"Your muffins are the worst," said Loki. "They're stale."

Thor glared back. "I'll have you know I make them fresh every morning."

"Wrap up what you have left for me, if you please," said Loki, walking up to Thor and putting the money on the counter.

"Are you teasing me?" said Thor, scratching the back of his head, not knowing what to make of Loki's words. He wrapped up the last four muffins from the display case and handed a paper bag to Loki, who simply smiled at him.

For the following days, Loki came every night like clockwork, spending an hour at the cafe before leaving, usually taking with him whatever muffins were left in the display case. Darcy was there sometimes, but every single time, Thor would be the one serving him. Thor looked forward to Loki's visits. At his worst, Loki may be infuriating, but he was never boring.

Loki seemed so tired all the time. Thor was wondering what could wear Loki down so much when he yawned and muttered out loud, "I could do with a babysitter."

"If you pay well," said Darcy, catching his complaint. It was not yet ten, but with no other customers around, she started cleaning up.

Loki cocked his head towards her. "Do you not already work here?"

"I'm just a part-timer. Frankly, if it wasn't for Jane, I wouldn't settle for this measly hourly wage he's paying me."

"She may say that, but she's doing a great job," said Thor, and continued to sing her praises, "Darcy's good with kids. All she has to do is take out her Stark-" Darcy cut him off by smacking him on the arm.

"Trade secret, buddy," said Darcy, and Thor mutely nodded. She turned to Loki, sitting on the chair opposite him and eagerly wanting gossip. "Hey, tell us about your kids."

"They are little monsters. The eldest dropped out of school and the youngest has control issues," chuckled Loki. "The other two bite a lot."

"You sometimes say the opposite of what you mean," said Thor.

"Do I?"

"You don't look unhappy at all when you say these things," said Thor. "I think you love them."

Loki leveled his gaze at Thor and said, "How would  _you_ like to babysit them?"

"I don't know if I'm any good with kids."

"I'd want to see this," interjected Darcy.

"Perhaps I will need to engage your services sooner than I think," said Loki, standing up and bringing his mug to the counter for Thor to clean. "And wrap up the muffins for me."

 

* * *

 

It was Christmas eve morning when Thor found himself at the door of Loki's apartment. He had taken the day off work and now he stood here with a duffel bag of all his scant belongings slung over his shoulder. He rang the doorbell and a young man opened it.

"Oh hey. You must be uncle Thor. You sure look funny wearing Midgardian clothing," said the young man.

Thor did not know what the young man meant but let that slide. "Where's Loki?"

"He's inside. Come on in."

"Wait here," said the young man, who knocked on the door at the end of the hall. Thor caught a glimpse of a piano inside when Loki emerged from the room.

"I'll be with Hela if you need me," said the young man, who went into one of the bedrooms.

"Thor," beckoned Loki, "let me show you to your room."

Loki took him up to a guestroom which, from the look of the boxes of book and old toys stacked against the wall, used to be a storeroom. It was simple but it had a generous bed: everything Thor needed to be comfortable. Two boys were on their knees cleaning, no, drawing squiggles on the dusty floor with wet washcloths.

"It's clean!" said Fenrir. His dark hair fell into his eyes and he rubbed at them, smudging dirt all over his cheeks.

"As you can see, it hasn't been cleaned for a while," Loki said to Thor, "so-"

"We just cleaned it," Fenrir growled, Jormungandr nodding next to him.

"-it's a little dusty," said Loki, opening a window to let the air in. "The dresser and the cupboard are yours. Fresh sheets are in the bottom drawer."

"I can't thank you enough for this."

"I couldn't stand knowing you bathe in a ditch and sleep in a dusty storeroom," said Loki.

"I do not bathe in a ditch, I-" Thor stopped when he realised he was being baited.

"You learn fast, but you never stop falling for it," grinned Loki.

"Are you sure I can stay here for free?"

"You can make yourself useful now and then," said Loki, taking Thor's hand by the wrist and pressing a duplicate key to the apartment into his open palm.

"I'll do my best," promised the new tenant, closing his fingers around the small key.

"If you would be free this evening, I would appreciate it if you chaperoned my children to the concert hall at seven sharp," said Loki. "Sleipnir has your ticket."

"You're attending the charity concert? I thought you said you weren't free to-" said Thor.

"The concert! I need a new sketchbook," interrupted Jormungandr, his voice soft but eager; his light hazel, almost golden, eyes looked to Loki, wide and unblinking. Thor supposed this was the boy's way of showing fondness.

"And more gummy bears," added Fenrir, sniffing at the dirty washcloth in his hand and looking disappointed when it didn't smell of anything exciting.

"Only if you eat with your mouth closed," Loki said to Fenrir, then herded the boys out of the guestroom. "Now, go take a bath."

"I'll clean up," said Thor, picking up the dirty washcloths and the small pails.

"I have to go now," Loki said. "I will be grateful if you could fix them something to eat. Hela likes her food cold and Sleipnir doesn't like meat. Make sure Jormungandr chews his food."

"No problem," said Thor.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Loki said, a teasing grin playing on his lips.

"I can remember all that. I pretty good at taking down orders at the cafe," Thor smiled back. "Is there anything else?"

"Ah, yes," said Loki, as if recalling something important that almost slipped his mind. "Whatever you do, do not let Fenrir lick Hela."

"I'm sure he wouldn't try something like that," chuckled Thor.

"Oh," laughed Loki, "just watch him."

 

* * *

  

Thor made his way to Hela's bedroom after cleaning up his room, and knocked on the door. Sleipnir opened it and let him in. The room was spacious, there was a large bed away from the window and a dresser beside it. Half the bed was occupied by soft toys and books. Thor found it interesting none of the toys had fur. Numerous trinkets of wood hung on the window and over the bed. Thor took one of the wooden discs hanging from the door in his hand, feeling the carved letters with his fingers.

For a moment, he thought he could read the letters on the wood and realised these were runes for healing.

He jolted and let go of the disc, wondering how he knew.

"You can sit there," said Sleipnir, pointing to some low chairs near the window.

"Hello, Thor," said the small girl, sitting on an armchair next to the bed, a book in her lap.

"You must be Hela," said Thor, blinking a few times to make sure the greyish patches on her skin wasn't a trick of light. "Pleased to meet you."

Fenrir and Jormungandr raced into the room and jumped onto the large bed, hair still dripping wet.

"Fen, Jorm, get off the bed. You're making the sheets wet," said Sleipnir. They looked at him and Fenrir pouted, but obeyed. Fenrir shook his head furiously, flinging water everywhere. Instead of being angry, Sleipnir only laughed and walked over Fenrir with a towel.

"I could use a hand," said Sleipnir, pointing to Jormungandr. Thor followed Sleipnir's lead and took a towel, but as soon as he pressed the towel on the younger boy's head, Jormungandr squirmed out of the way and made a low, hissing sound.

"Here," said Sleipnir, giving Fenrir's towel to Thor and taking over Jormungandr, who stopped moving and stayed remarkably still to let his eldest brother dry his hair.

"I don't think he likes you very much," Hela surmised.

"Was it something I did?" asked Thor. He toweled Fenrir's hair a little too hard and the boy shrugged him off. He took the towel from Thor and sniffed at it. It smelt of apple-scented shampoo.

"Don't worry about it," said Sleipnir. "Jorm's like this sometimes."

"Well," shrugged Thor, "I guess I'll fix us something to eat. What would you like?"

"I could do with a muffin," said Sleipnir. "The muffins dad brings home from your cafe are rather nice."

"I was wondering what Loki did with all those muffins. I thought maybe he bought them to throw at ducks or something," said Thor.

"Muffins?" said Fenrir, perking up at the sound of food.

"Did you bake those muffins?" asked Sleipnir.

"I make them from muffin pre-mixes."

Hela giggled.

"How old are all of you anyway?" asked Thor.

"I'm in tenth grade," said Sleipnir. "Fen's ten, Jorm's nine and Hela's almost seven."

"I heard you dropped out of school," said Thor, and realised belatedly it could be a sensitive subject.

"To be home-schooled, yes," shrugged Sleipnir.

"I want to be home-schooled too," said Jormungandr.

"I like school," said Fenrir. "There's a playground."

"Hela, is she home-schooled too?" said Thor.

"Uh, yeah. She's sick so she stays home," explained Sleipnir.

"Oh," said Thor, making a note to be more careful around Hela lest he injure her. "Can she go to the concert later? It might be crowded-"

"Of course she can!" interrupted Fenrir, who, in an instant was standing next to Hela and defending his sister's right to go out. "She looks like this but she doesn't spreads germs or anything."

To prove his point, Fenrir took Hela's discoloured hand and licked it.

"See? She's safe to touch."

"Crap," said Thor.

 

* * *

 

The concert hall wasn't far from the apartment. In fact, Loki's apartment was a short distance from Thor's cafe, which in turn was a bridge or so away from the hall. He called a cab, and got the children in. There was only space for four, so he told them he would walk over and meet them at the hall. Sleipnir folded Hela's wheelchair and Thor helped him put it in the boot. It was a very small town with small roads and not many cars. The air was cool and the road unbusied. Thor walked at a leisurely pace, feeling lifted and unburdened as he crossed the bridge.

The concert was to start at seven-thirty, so Thor had half an hour to spare when he arrived. As he made his way through the slowly-building crowd to look for the children, he overheard adults complaining about allowing children in the hall. As it was a charity concert, as well as a family-friendly affair, all were invited. Thor wondered to himself, though, if Fenrir and Jormungandr would be able to keep quiet through the two-hour long concert.

"Over here," Fenrir called out, running over to Thor and pulling him over.

"Here's the program, if you're interested," said Sleipnir, handing over a small, poorly printed booklet.

"Good, you're all here," said Loki, heading over to them with a package under his arm. Loki was usually in a suit, but tonight, he wore a tuxedo, complete with a black tie and gold-green cuffs. The tuxedo coat was open and revealed the dark grey waistcoat underneath.

Loki turned to Sleipnir and asked, "Do you have your tickets?"

"Right here," Sleipnir took them out from the pocket of his jeans. "You look good, dad. A long coat looks better on you than funny tails. And the tie. Definitely better than bow-ties."

"Flattery won't get you a car," smiled Loki. "You're still a little too young to drive."

"It was worth a shot," shrugged Sleipnir.

"Here's your sketchbook and colour pencils," Loki handed a brown paper bag to Jormungandr, who took the bag and stared at Loki with adoring, wide unblinking eyes that always made Thor wonder if he had ever seen the boy blink.

"They ran out of gummy bears at the store, so I have gummy worms for you," Loki said to Fenrir.

"That's even better!" Fenrir stuck a hand into the bag still in Jormungandr's hands and fished out the small box of gummy worms.

"There's a picture book as well if Fenrir or Thor needs it," said Loki.

"I don't need a picture book," said Thor. "Oh wait, you're being sarcastic again, aren't you?"

"I'm serious," said Loki, unsmiling and looking Thor in the eye. "Have you ever been to a classical music concert?"

Thor shook his head.

"Well then, I suppose you will need the picture book," said Loki, and he turned to Hela.

"I brought my Kindle," said Hela.

"We're all set, then."

"What about Sleipnir?" asked Thor, curious that the teen got left out.

"I'm good," said Sleipnir. "I need sleep."

Before Thor could ask Loki anything, a buzzer rang out, followed by an announcement for the audience to be seated.

"Daddy," said Hela.

Loki bent down. "Yes?"

"Your tie is crooked," said Hela, and adjusted it.

"Thank you," said Loki, and ran a hand over Hela's hair fondly. She glared at him.

"See you later, dad," said Sleipnir, as Loki swiftly left them.

Fenrir and Jormungandr waved at Loki and quickly turned their attention back to their presents.

"He's not joining us?" asked Thor, suddenly feeling a little inadequate in jeans. He pulled his brown jacket a little tighter and buttoned it.

"Daddy's right. Dear old Uncle Thor is fun to tease," said Hela.

"You don't have to call me 'uncle'. I don't mind informality," said Thor.

"He really doesn't remember anything, Hela," said Sleipnir.

"Ignorance is bliss," said Hela, looking at her two older brothers arguing over whether they should open the box of gummy worms before or during the concert.

Thor shook his head and held Fenrir's hand while Jormungandr clung onto Sleipnir's shirt, reluctant to be close to Thor. Sleipnir pushed Hela into the auditorium and she spoke softly to Jormungandr, who listened as attentively as a nine-year-old could. Loki often spoke in riddles, so Thor supposed he was to resign himself to not ever fully comprehend Loki's children as well.

Long sleeves shielded Hela's discoloured arm from friction and a scarf wrapped loosely around her neck kept her warm in the auditorium. Her half-discoloured face and her wheelchair earned her quite a few rude stares as she carefully stood up and settled into her seat by the aisle, but she did not seem to mind. She took out the program from a bag on her wheelchair and started reading.

"You okay?" Thor could not resist asking. He was seated between her and Fenrir while Sleipnir, ever a sensible elder brother, sat on the other end, next to Jormungandr, in a strategic position to keep trouble out. And in.

"They're starting with the Mozart. You should ask Sleipnir for the picture book," said Hela.

Thor did so without question, wondering if he was to hold onto it in case Fenrir became restless and wanted something to read. Absently, he opened the book and realised it was a collection of local scenic photos. A book one could easily obtain from the local museum or, in this case, from the souvenir shop just outside.

A hush fell upon the audience when the conductor walked in and gave a quick introduction of the concerto they were to play. He asked the audience to welcome the pianist for the evening and a round of polite applause rang out as a Mr Luke Lauson walked onto the stage.

"Loki?" exclaimed Thor, which went largely unheard amidst the clapping. He looked to Hela, who simply laughed at him.

Another round of conserved applause went up for the orchestra as the conductor did a quick introduction to the purpose of this evening's performance. Thor's gaze followed Loki as he took his seat at the piano, flipping the ends of his coat out of the way with practised ease. Loki nodded once to the conductor and the conductor turned to his orchestra.

The music sounded pleasant with a clear melody, but when Thor tried to catch it, he couldn't. When the music started to feel boring, the piano entered and it picked up. It was pleasant and clean, like expensive elevator music. Still, it felt like a jumble of notes he couldn't comprehend. Loki's playing flowed from one place to another, light yet firm, like an anchored ship on choppy waters. Thor found the melody long and dreary and he wondered how people could listen and make sense of this Mozart.

A small tap on his thigh, and he looked to Hela. She tapped her finger on the cover of the book on his lap and then went back to her reading.

Thor opened the book once more and looked at the photos. He flipped a few pages and came to a few photos of the concert hall's exterior and interior. He traced his finger over a photo of the empty auditorium and thought about Loki coming to a largely empty hall to practise with the orchestra. He imagined Loki being his cuttingly sarcastic self with the other musicians and found himself smiling. The piano playing was flawless, even when he could clearly hear the orchestra sagging in some parts. Unforgiving as Loki seemed to be, his piano did not abandon the orchestra; instead it flowed and filled in the cracks, lifting the other musicians and spurring them on.

The music went into the second movement, which began much slower. He peered over Fenrir and saw that Sleipnir had already fallen fast asleep and was leaning towards Jormungandr's folded seat. The unseated boy was on the floor, quietly drawing in his new sketchbook. Fenrir was chewing on a gummy worm while staring at the conductor. The movement of the conductor was keeping him rather amused.

It would seem that they were all having fun except Thor. He flipped the pages of the book until he saw a photo of the bridge where he met Loki twice. The liveliness of the third movement seem to make the picture come alive. He imagined standing on the bridge on a busy early afternoon under the bright sun with people coming and going, Loki beside him coming up with line after line of ridiculous statements, and when Thor became confused enough to glare at him, Loki would reveal a small but genuine smile.

The music was over only too soon, breaking him out of his daydream. Thor looked up hastily and joined in the enthusiastic clapping of the audience.

Loki stood up and bowed, and the applause rose up like a wave. Thor watched Loki leave the stage. The orchestra continued to perform a few more pieces on their own, but there was nothing that really got his attention.

Fenrir and Jormungandr had taken the picture book from him; Jormungandr was now back in his seat and pulling out a large pencil case from his backpack. They shared the book between them and took turns to doodle in the book with Jormungandr's crayons and markers.

Thor muffled a laugh when he saw Jormungandr drawing a giant serpent popping out from the sea to terrorising the seaside restaurants. Fenrir added a rainbow and sparkles over the serpent. They looked at Thor for a while, and Fenrir passed the book and a marker to him. Thor added a few stick people holding guns and resisting the serpent, then passed it back. Jormungandr didn't seem to happy about the stick-figures and turned over to the next page to draw yet another serpent. Time passed quickly watching the two draw, and before Thor knew it, they had come to the intermission.

Thor stretched in his seat and looked at the children, asking them if they needed to go to the bathroom. They insisted they could go on their own, so Thor did not follow them. Sleipnir was still asleep, his mouth slightly open, and no one had the heart to wake him.

"You should've seen your face when Daddy walked up the stage," said Hela, stretching slowly in her seat like a cat.

"You're as bad as Darcy," sulked Thor. "Why didn't you tell me your father was performing?"

"Why ruin the fun?" said Hela.

"You are indeed your father's daughter," Thor sighed.

After the intermission, the orchestra started playing popular Christmas tunes. The familiar tunes warmed the audience up and some even started singing and clapping along. There was an encore and Loki was invited up to play something.

"The snow is dancing," said Loki.

When he started playing, Thor could hear snow and lights and ice and magic in the music. He imagined a vast darkness filled with countless stars which he counted as he sat on the edge of an ice cold bridge of crystals and rainbows. It felt almost familiar, like a faraway memory seen through a frosted window. He felt he could stare into the dark space filled with stars, but it seemed cold for stars to be stars. He felt he may have lost something dear once, to the dark abyss where cold, unfeeling lights gave no comfort.

There was a moment of silence after the last notes rang out like snowflakes on one's cheeks - soft, cold, ethereal but certainly felt - and thunderous applause and cheers broke out.

 

* * *

_Music featured:_

_Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467._   _[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2uYb6bMKyI&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2uYb6bMKyI&feature=related)_

 _Debussy: Children's Corner no. 4 - The Snow Is Dancing_   _[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1YHnYX8xfM&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1YHnYX8xfM&feature=related)_

* * *

 

Backstage, Loki smirked, knowing opportunities would now come easy to him in this new town. All he needed was one good performance in front of all these people. It was almost too easy. The orchestra's regular pianist had been too stupid to learn that eating at an unhygienic diner more often than not would result in food poisoning. Thrice. And no one has to know he played a very small part in ensuring the punctuality of those bouts of poisoning.

There was a after-concert buffet outside the hall for the musicians and audience alike, the organisers soliciting donations for charity. Loki pulled on a green-gold silk scarf and walked out of the relatively empty green room, for the musicians were busy basking in their success in the reception area.

As soon as the conductor spotted Loki coming, he called a few of the orchestra's patrons over and introduced him to them. Loki played the part of a well-mannered but confident pianist instead of a sarcastic one, to the conductor's delight. He was offered a few deals which he replied he would consider. The conductor was giddy with enthusiasm; Loki believed the standing ovation the orchestra received must have gone to his head. That, and the free-flowing wine, which Loki did not touch, as it was cheap and smelt a little like Sleipnir's socks. After fifteen minutes of obligatory socialising, Loki attempted to excuse himself. They were loathed to let him go, but at the right moment, Jormungandr weaved his way through to Loki and clung onto his coat. The musicians cooed at the boy and when Loki once more told them he had to go, they finally obliged.

"Daddy Retrieval Operation success!" Fenrir cheered as Jormungandr came back with Loki.

"I could do with some food. Some place with apple pie would be great," said Sleipnir, and pointed a thumb at the rather meagre buffet offering, "it's all sandwiches and beer in there."

"I want chicken," said Jormungandr.

"Chicken!" agreed Fenrir.

"Sushi, ice-cream." said Hela.

"I don't think any diners are open tonight on Christmas eve," said Thor.

"Then let us go home and make do with what we have," said Loki.

"Hang on, I saw chicken wings at the buffet," said Thor. "I'll bring us some."

"Fenrir," ordered Loki, "look after Thor. I don't think he can complete his mission without your help."

"I'll take good care of him!" Fenrir cheerfully took Thor's hand and led him to the buffet.

Fenrir returned, holding a paper plate of fried chicken wings. Thor had a plate of sandwiches in one hand and two cans of beer in the other.

Sleipnir whipped out paper bags for them to stash the food in, and Thor marvelled at the young man's foresight. Later, he found out, and wished he hadn't, that Sleipnir simply carried disposable bags around to use as barf bags for Hela and on occasion, Fenrir.

When they arrived home, Darcy was waiting at the door for them.

"Took you long enough," grumbled Darcy.

"My apologies," said Loki, not looking the least sorry as he unlocked the apartment to let them all in.

"These your kids? All of them?" asked Darcy as she watched the group move in.

"How did the big blond one at the back follow me home? He's not one of mine," said Loki, raising a brow. Thor chortled and helped carry Hel's wheelchair in.

"That's a lot of kids you have," said Darcy, and gave a low whistle.

As it turned out, Loki had contacted Darcy prior, and seeing that she wasn't planning to spend the holiday with anyone as her friends were busy with some new discovery a hundred miles from here, invited her over for a late dinner and a stayover.

"You don't know the things I had to do to get us this cake without a preorder," said Darcy, putting a box on the dining table next to the chicken wings and sandwiches. She opened the box and the children, even Hela, had to look at the well-decorated log cake.

"All right," Loki clapped his hands for attention. "As you know, we do not have much prepared for this Yuletide celebration, but in lieu of bread, we shall have cake."

"Hear, hear!" laughed Sleipnir.

"I brought a box of muffin premix from the shop," added Darcy. "So there's our breakfast, lunch and dinner for tomorrow."

"Don't you have any plans?" asked Thor.

"With no one in town I'd like to spend it with? I'd rather stay at home and Facebook," said Darcy, and glanced over at Loki. "Besides, he gave me a fifty just to hang around." She turned back at Thor, who was taking off his jacket to reveal a worn T-shirt and hip-hugging jeans. "And I don't mind the view."

* * *

  

The next morning, Loki was greeted by the smell of coffee when he emerged from his room after a full night's rest.

"Morning," said Thor.

"It is almost noon," said Loki, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

Thor handed Loki a mug of coffee with way too much milk in it. He looked at Thor, judging him, and then drained it in one go.

"Too sweet," was all Loki could say before he refilled his mug with water which he hastily drank to wash the taste down.

"Another?" said Thor, a playful smile dancing on his lips as he held out the pot of what Loki now believed to be simply coffee-flavoured milk.

Loki leaned back on the kitchen counter, smiled and lazily held out his mug.

"Another."

Loki looked more relaxed than he had in days. Perhaps it was from having a good night's rest. Or perhaps it was the dark green robe he was wearing, complete with matching slippers. His hair was mussed and fell over his ears when he tilted his head and his half-opened eyes were slightly unfocused.

Thor sometimes thought there were two sides to Loki. There was the usual Loki: impeccable, sharp-tongued and unforgiving, and then there was  _this_ Loki. He kept his eyes on  _this_ Loki's face as he leaned close and reached for the mug.

As his fingers closed over Loki's, green eyes sought his face and the smile started to fade. In an attempt to capture it, Thor took a small step closer and pressed his lips on the dying smile. As if he breathed life into it, the smile came back renewed, gentle and teasing. Thor pulled away to admire his handiwork but Loki would not have it. His fingers snaked up Thor's stubbled jaw and pulled Thor in, closing those inches between them so he could taste those lips once more, awful coffee and all.

When they broke the kiss at their leisure, there was only silence in that moment. Loki almost wanted to savour that silence, except he knew that stillness was anything but natural here. He put down the mug and looked around.

Thor caught on quickly. "Darcy took the kids out for a walk."

"All of them?"

Thor nodded. "She asked me to let you know she took your wallet in case the kids needed anything."

"Hmm," Loki relaxed once more. "That makes it a little difficult for me to go out."

"We could-" Thor paused to consider his options, "have more coffee."

Loki took a long moment to consider Thor's offer, and eventually replied, "I'd rather stay away from whatever it is you have prepared, if it's all the same to you."

"What about breakfast?"

"After what you gave me to drink? It killed whatever appetite I may have had," chuckled Loki.

"It's not that bad," said Thor. He picked up a muffin from an almost emptied oven tray on the counter and held it up to Loki. "Muffin?"

"Only to humour you," smiled Loki, taking a bite out of the muffin in Thor's fingers.

Loki did not mind his new tenant following him about the house. Thor asked if Loki wanted anything done in the house and had even almost followed Loki to his bedroom but stopped short of entering when he realised Loki wanted to change out of his sleepwear. Loki found himself addicted to every awkward moment he caused Thor.

Thor gave up asking and started on the laundry while Loki did what Loki does best-being unpredictable.

Thor watched Loki, who somehow managed to look sleek and cat-like in a dark green turtleneck sweater and sweatpants, arrange the food in the refrigerator by colour. He spotted Loki make his way to the living room, turn on the television to watch a minute of every one of the thirty channels there were before turning it off. The house wasn't particularly big, so Thor could easily see and hear where Loki was. He heard Loki pad near his room and wondered if Loki went in.

Loki was all over the place, and after a while, he was next to Thor again, helping to sort out laundry from the dryer. Loki kept an eye on Thor, amusement flickering in his eyes. Thor tried not to comment on the prints on the underwear he was holding in his hand, but his questioning looks were enough to set Loki off into a fit of giggles.

"Sleipnir doesn't like people touching his things but you went and ransacked his laundry basket anyway," accused Loki.

"I'll just put them all back in his room before he returns and no one will be the wiser," said Thor.

"But it would be so much more interesting to let him catch you with his boxers," said Loki.

"I just don't think it is good to laugh at someone for liking a cartoon," said Thor, piling folded shirts on the rainbow-coloured  _My Little Pony_ boxers and bundling the cleaned clothes under his arm to Sleipnir's room.

"The children are going to adore you," laughed Loki, hanging up a rune behind Sleipnir's door.

"Why are you hanging these things everywhere?"

"Yuletide decorations," Loki answered off-handedly.

"With runes?"

"What do you know about runes?" Loki narrowed his eyes.

"They're like good-luck charms, I think," shrugged Thor. "Do they work?"

Loki shook his head and went into his room and came out a small pendant carved from ash. With deft fingers, he affixed a strip of thin leather to it and tossed it to Thor.

"If you believe in them," said Loki.

Thor ran a thumb over the tiny runes carved into the pendant. The wood felt warm to his hand, like it belonged there. He could make out something in the carved letters he felt he had seen before.

"What's this for?" asked Thor

"Fertility. Wear it and no one will be able to resist your virile charms," said Loki.

"You say that," said Thor, tying the charm around his neck and baring it to Loki. "So, is it working?"

Loki absently fondled the ring on his finger as he appraised Thor. "Very fertile. Now you can impregnate women simply by looking at them," smirked Loki.

Thor tucked the rune into his shirt and reached out to Loki, brushing his fingers across his cheek to tuck an errant lock of hair behind his ears.

"Liar," Thor said softly, smiling and shaking his head.

"And you a fool for believing in one," Loki said fondly.

When Thor was finished with the laundry, he heard the sound of the piano from the room at the end of the hall. He wondered if he should knock, but the door was left slightly ajar, as if inviting him to intrude. He sat on the couch that was against the wall, and saw there was a shelf filled with some books and toys belonging to the children. Like all the other rooms, there were runes hanging from the closed window.

Loki was playing from a book with music notation. After a while of trying to be attentive and listen, he found that there was nothing in this music he could make sense of. The music was jarring, nonsensical, slow, like a child's senseless prodding and hammering.

When Loki finally paused in his playing, Thor decided to ask for an answer, even if Loki seldom gave a straight one.

"What is that book you're playing?" asked Thor.

Loki paused in his playing and turned to look at his audience. "I was betting on you walking out of the room before an hour was up, but it seems I was wrong," he said.

"So the song in this book really sounds like that?" Thor pointed to the score on the baby grand's music shelf.

"Here," said Loki, flipping the pages back to the beginning of the piece.

Thor walked over to the piano and read the words at the top of the music.

 "Jax Dew?"

" _Jeux D'eau. Dieu fluvial riant de l'eau qui le chatouille..._ ," said Loki, the words rolling his tongue like it belonged to him.

"What does that mean?"

Loki pointed to the translated notes printed at the bottom of the first page.

"'Fountains. River god laughing as the water tickles him...'. It doesn't sound anything like a fountain," said Thor.

"It does. Here, let me show you," said Loki.

"Isn't that what you just-" Thor stopped when the first high notes rang out on the piano. "Oh."

Thor watched Loki's hands move from end to end of the keyboard, fascinated by the passage where Loki's left hand leapt deftly over his right. He could hear water in the music, the cascading curtains, the sprays of water reaching for the sky, the tinkling of the heavy drops as they fall back onto marble stone.

Water falling and gushing into the end of the world at the edge of the observatory. He could stare at it endlessly whenever he crossed the bridge.  _Bridge?_ There were the rivers and creaks and streams in the forests around the palace where they, as children, drank from and swam in.  _Who was he with?_ The rain that would come after thunder, the thunder before lightning; the rain no shelter could hide you from as it whipped around you. The storm. His storm.  _His storm?_

"So, what do you think?" asked Loki when he finished the piece.

"It does sound like water," said Thor. "It didn't sound anything like that just now."

"I was playing parts of it backwards."

"Why would you do that?"

"To bore you," yawned Loki.

"Why would you do something so tedious just to bore me? That's more like work than... Oh, I see. You  _were_ working, weren't you?"

Loki, on the bench, turned to Thor and smiled. He leaned an arm on the edge of the keyboard and looked completely comfortable being there.

And Thor knew it was the right moment to kiss him again.

 

* * *

 

 _Notes : Generally, piano pieces aren't called 'songs'. A song has to be sung._  
  
Jeux D'eau by Ravel

_<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_36x1_LKgg> _

_Playing short passages or difficult phrases backwards is a legit way of practising, if anyone is curious._

 

* * *

  

Almost nowhere else was opened on a public holiday in this small town. It was like being in the lazy suburbs of Puente Antiguo all over again. Darcy and the children managed to bring back food from a nearby gas station. Dinner was to be sandwiches and TV dinners, and Fenrir and Jormungandr carried at least a dozen cups of Ben & Jerry's between them. At least there was ice-cream, thought Darcy. Once settled in, Fenrir and Jormungandr got down to fighting over the television remote. Which was mostly Fenrir trying to change the channels every ten seconds and Jormungandr trying to get him to stop.

Hela was worn out from the trip, sniffling, coughing and not very willing to leave her wheelchair to get onto her feet. Sleipnir said she had insisted on doing a lot of walking about and might have caught a chill. Loki gathered the small girl into his arms and she allowed it without complaint as he carried her to the bathroom to give her a warm bath.

"Hey, Dad," Sleipnir popped his head into the bathroom a while later and complained, "I thought told you I can wash my own clothes."

"I didn't do it," said Loki. "Thor did."

"Did he-" Sleipnir paled. "He saw, didn't he?"

"He was very gracious about it and said nothing."

"It's all your fault," muttered Sleipnir. "You were the one who gave me those, those boxers!"

"You could've thrown them away if you didn't like them," said Loki calmly, sleeves rolled to his elbows, working shampoo carefully into Hela's long black hair. She sat in the tub of warm water, resting her chin on her drawn up knees, yawning, tired enough not to complain about the bubbles in the water. She hated bubble baths and knew Loki simply enjoyed the sight of her looking tormented in a tub filled with these white, frothy bubbles.

"Argh," muttered Sleipnir, and disappeared from the bathroom doorway.

Darcy had solved the television dispute between Fenrir and Jormungandr by popping a DVD on Ironman into the player. They quietly ate their food and watched Tony Stark do stunts in his suit and talk about the other Avengers.

"I assume that is all coming out of my wallet," said Loki, looking at the food, magazines and DVDs on the table.

"Yep," said Darcy, completely unrepentant. "I have also paid myself since you promised me another fifty if I stuck around today."

"Take another fifty," said Loki. "You deserve it."

"Yes, I do," agreed Darcy and she reached for Loki's wallet.

Fenrir suddenly stood up and ran to the bathroom, yelling outside the door to Sleipnir. "You're Leggy!"

"What?"

"Codenames!"

"No way, that's so lame," said Sleipnir from inside the bathroom as Fenrir rushed back to the hall.

"Why the sudden talk about codenames?" asked Loki.

"Do I get one?" asked Jormungandr.

"All the Avengers have them, don't they? Like Ironman, Black Widow..." said Fenrir. "We might need one someday."

Sleipnir came to the hall to join them, towel around his shoulders.

"How about Spidey?" suggested Fenrir.

"You a fan of Spiderman?" Darcy added.

"Grey. I'm going to stick to being Grey, because I'm...grey," said Sleipnir.

"Boring. I wanna be Fang!"

"How about Pup?"

"Shaddup," said Fenrir.

"What about me?" Jormungandr asked again.

"You're Jorm. Stay Jorm," said Fenrir.

"Uhh....that's not fun."

"How about Hela?" said Jormungandr.

"Hela's code name is Princess." Sleipnir agreed.

Loki carried the tired Hela to the living room and set her on the couch in front of the television, next to her two brothers. She gave a tiny growl with the noise going on and muttered a curse when Loki held out a spoonful of cold mashed potatoes to her lips.

"Eat something before you go to bed,  _princess_ ," said Loki, drawing giggles from the boys.

"That's  _Queen_ to you." muttered Hela as she grudgingly relented and took the plate of food from him, feeding herself as fast as she could just to get away from being forced to watch Stark on a 60-inch flatscreen television blow another sickening kiss to the loud cheering audience.

It was still early evening after Loki tucked Hela into bed. The boys were already done with their food, had washed their plates and were now on the floor instead of the couch. Even Darcy was impressed with how well the boys behaved despite their playfulness.

Loki came to the living room, bent down, picked Jormungandr up from the floor and snuggled him like a pet. The boy squirmed in his grip as Loki let himself fall back heavily onto the couch, chuckling. Fenrir clambered up the couch and clamoured to be carried too. Jormungandr, seeing the competition, stopped trying to escape and clung tightly onto Loki. The two tumbled over each other and wrestled like puppies, not letting go of Loki, who by then decided to tickle them instead, making them squeal and growl and hiss and laugh.

"He looks really happy," said Thor, chewing through his third sandwich and reaching for a fourth.

"You're right," said Darcy. "It's really amazing. Jane and those guys at SHIELD should see this. They'd never believe me even if I told them."

"Huh?"

"Nothing," said Darcy, suddenly busying herself with a second cup of banana peanut butter ice-cream.

 

* * *

  

The following days of Christmas, or Yule, as Loki called it, was uneventful. Loki would spend time in Thor's cafe almost every day after a class, a recital, or something that had to do with work. Nothing seemed to have changed at all. Loki was as usual, teasing Thor when he was in a good mood, and being quiet when he was tired, which was more often than not. Sometimes, he would be reading a book or fiddling with music scores and ignoring Thor completely. Thor wondered if Loki thought anything about the kiss they shared on Christmas, or if that was just something they did in the heat of the moment.

They hadn't talked much in the apartment either. The nights saw Loki busy caring for Hela, who had caught an infection in her lungs soon after Christmas which took a turn for the worse. Almost every night as he lay in bed in his loft, Thor could hear the soft but urgent pattering of Loki's feet that came after the distant, muffled sound of every one of Hela's coughing fits that would sometimes last the whole night. That Loki gave him the room furthest from the other bedrooms was a gesture of unspoken generosity, for this room was the only one undisturbed by all that disturbed Loki's rest.

It was time to pay rent, and Thor did his best to help lighten Loki's load by getting up earlier to prepare breakfast every morning before going to the cafe. Sleipnir was most appreciative of the breakfasts and packed lunches, which were mostly muffins, since it meant he could sleep in until it was time to bring the boys to school.

Thor himself spent most of his time working at the cafe, trying to get it off the ground. He thought to be patient with Loki, as much as he wanted to talk to him, since it seemed Loki should only have to worry about his daughter. The right time would come for them again, he believed, but Darcy thought otherwise.

"I don't think I can bear to watch this anymore," said Darcy, on the eighth day of watching Thor and Loki play touch-and-go. "Just talk to him already."

"We are talking," said Thor, slightly puzzled.

"Thor. You are handsome and I can stare at your biceps all day, but you can be so dense when people are trying to imply something," said Darcy, rolling her eyes at him.

"What has my biceps got to do with implications?"

"I just wanted to touch them. Can I?"

"Uh, sure?"

Darcy squeezed Thor's arm and seemed very impressed with his biceps.

"Go ask him out, boss," said Darcy, and Thor nodded.

On the ninth day after their kiss, Thor asked Loki out for a date.

Loki said no, and Thor left it at that.

Later in that day, SHIELD came for Thor.

Loki left before he was spotted, and from a distance, watched the agents take Thor away.

 

* * *

 

Three days after, Hela left.

Loki had fled Asgard, taking his children with him. With the Allfather in Odinsleep and Frigga's quiet blessing, almost all of Asgard would not know he was gone and those who knew were to promise to keep their silence. He had drawn on his power to enable Sleipnir, Fenrir and Jormungandr to take the shape of mortals. Then, he descended into Hel to seek aid from its queen. Without a mortal vessel, the queen could not leave Hel. Loki offered to provide her a vessel and on those terms, she agreed.

He had carried her to Midgard within himself. He gave her a vessel formed from with blood and magic. He carried her as she took to the form and grew until she was ready. She was cut from his body, in the form of an infant. He had given too much to her and it took many months to heal. He never regained his magic since. Within her mortal vessel, Hela was hidden from Heimdall's sight. She grew faster than mortals but was still ill-suited to Midgard's clime and her body deteriorated rapidly.

Two years had passed since then.

Tonight, her pain would not leave and she knew it would never leave. She would scream curses at Loki if she could, but her voice came out hoarse and broken.

"Release me from this curse," Hela hissed as Loki held her hand. "There is no time and you know it."

Loki patted her hand and moved in close, whispering words into her ear. Her furrowed brows slowly eased and her body started to fade. She could finally return to Hel. She seemed to smile as her hand slipped through Loki's, who leaned in to kiss her forehead. He did not seem to mind she was not corporeal and he could not touch her. When he drew back from her, there was nothing left except an empty dress on her bed.

This night, he played a slow melodious piece by Ravel that Hela had always enjoyed.  _Pavane pour une infante d_ _éfunte_ was a piece written by the Midgardians just for her, she would say of the piece, and she would dance, enjoying the way her dress would swish as she spun around on her little feet.

"Good night, Princess."

  
* 

 _Ravel's Pavane pour une infante défunte, also known as Pavane For A Dead Princess. It's not so much about a dead princess as it is, in Ravel's words, "an evocation of a pavane that a little princess might, in former times, have danced at the Spanish court"_  [ _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcm9X5kuehc_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcm9X5kuehc)

  
*

Wisps of darkness slipped through a crack in the window and the winds seemed to whisper an invitation to him. He held out a hand and the dark mist came to him. It streamed through his fingers and then dissipated into the air. The stopped hands of fate began to move again now Hela was gone. _  
_

_So it begins._

 

* * *

 

Tony jetted back in his suit back from a dinner party. Perk of being a flying superhero number one: avoiding downtown traffic. It was a sweet, sweet deal. Then his suit started beeping loudly at him, catching him by surprise.

"Crap! Turn it down!" said Tony, instinctively covering his ears though it wouldn't help. A second later the alarm's volume was lowered. "Just turn it off already. What is it? Did something get through the cracks again?"

There was the occasional stray creature that made it through the remnants of the portal the Tesseract created years ago. Cracks that seemed to attract brainless creatures to come through, but given how they were small fries, Tony found they weren't much as target practise. He had set up equipment to monitor the cracks but he couldn't work on feasible solutions if SHIELD kept all the information on Asgard tech from him. There seemed to be problems within SHIELD lately as well so the agents that monitored the area were gone. He'd love to get his hand on some Asgardian stuff they monopolised to see how they ticked but Fury was a stingy bastard.

"There are no changes in the readings at the moment. However, there is an intruder in the tower, sir."

"You said the same thing last week and it was a false alarm. Stop rerouting the alarm to the suit. Why don't you reroute the alarm to Steve? He's the one who's up and ready for work. And fix the sliding doors to the pool. I don't care if a flying pig's caught on camera again, I don't have to know--"

"The creature last week resembled an equestrian, sir," interrupted Jarvis. "And it landed in the pool."

"Not that I don't believe you, but when was your last update anyway? Maybe you're going senile."

"Sir, I am quite certain--"

"So you're saying some magic pony flew into my pool and then disappeared. Even if you're right about that, it's a job for the wildlife rescue, not Ironman--"

"It is humanoid this time, sir, and it is still in the building," said Jarvis. Tony tensed up as he entered the penthouse.

"What the hell," said Tony, recognising the uninvited guest. "Loki?"

"Ah, Stark, the man of iron. I've been waiting for you," said Loki.

He pointed a palm-mounted pulsar at Loki and continued, "Look, I've just finished rebuilding and renovating this place, so I'd appreciate it if you don't destroy it again."

A little boy, no more than ten, carefully peeked out from behind Loki.

"Ironman!" whispered the boy excitedly. The boy looked impressed with Tony, if large unblinking eyes and a mouth slightly agape meant he was impressed. It was enough to make Ironman hesitate. He lowered his arm and let it swing a little, trying to look relaxed but his eyes never left Loki.

"This child appears to be a big fan of yours," said Loki, curling his lips in disgust.  _Score one for Ironman_ , thought Tony, grinning under his helmet. But with a child around, dangerously shooting at his new decor would be ill-advised.

"Well then, let's not do anything crazy. We could sit and talk," suggested Tony. Sitting was good. People generally didn't feel like shooting when they're seated on a soft couch.

"Sadly, I do not have time for idle chatter," said Loki. "Your world is under a great threat."

"Is it Tuesday already?" said Tony. Counter bullshit with bullshit.  
  
Loki placed a hand on the child's shoulder.  _Damn, he's thought things through,_ thought Tony.  
  
"There are remnants left from the last battle with the Chitauri," said Loki.

"All right. I'll bite. What do you mean?"

"Such a battle always leaves a shadow behind," said Loki, pointing to the gathering clouds in the distance. "Like an open wound, it draws the flies to it."

"Never knew you were so poetic. Get to the point already," snapped Tony.

"I'll be as blunt as I can," said Loki. "There's a dark world on the other side of the gate and it wants ours."

"Why are you telling me this? What's in it for you?"

The clouds in the distance rumble and an alarm flashes.

"The diameter of the portal has expanded another four inches, sir," came Jarvis's voice from the ceiling. "No hostiles are detected at this moment, but the rate of expansion has slowly begun to accelerate."

"Your servant is right. We have perhaps a month before they strike."

"What are you proposing I do?"  
  
"What comes through that now will be different from before. It is best to keep it contained. I'm sure an engineer of your calibre can build some sort of shield to contain what comes out from the gate until it is closed."  
  
"Don't you know any way we can close it up now?"

Loki shook his head. "The gate's energy will run its course. To force open a gate instead of giving it hundreds of years to grow, it will close just as fast. A few days is enough to wipe out your world of life if you can't keep it contained. And when Midgard falls, soon shall Asgard as well."  
  
"So why isn't Asgard doing anything about it?"  
  
Loki gave him a tired smile. "I'm here, aren't I?"  
  
"Great," said Tony. "And what will you be doing?"

"Nothing," said Loki. "It's not my job to do anything."  
  
"That's not a lot of help," said Tony.  
  
"Oh, you might want to keep this information private. The energy that comes from that dark place can corrode a person's mind. I don't think your other Avenger friends can withstand it."  
  
"I've been exposed to it long enough and I'm not crazy yet," said Tony.

"You're special." Loki then beckoned the small boy. "Come, child, we are done here."

"Where are we going?" The boy looked torn between staying with Ironman and following Loki.

"I bring you to somewhere interesting," grinned Loki. "There's a nice little country surrounded by mountains in Europe. What was the place called? Latveria?"

"Hey," interrupted Tony. He wouldn't live it down if he didn't stop a kidnapping happening right under his nose. "You're not bringing the kid anywhere. Where did he come from anyway?"

"What does it matter to you? I brought him with me so you wouldn't attack me on sight."

 _It sure worked,_ thought Tony.

"Hey kid," said Tony, waving the boy over. "Why don't you come with me? I'll show you something cool."

The boy's eyes lit up and he left Loki's side without hesitation. Kids are fickle little people and this one is definitely easy to kidnap, thought Tony. Whatever happened to 'don't follow strangers'?

A soft vibration came from Loki's pocket and he started to reach for it.

"Hey!"

"Just one minute," Loki held a finger up, hushing Tony.

"That's just rude. Don't you know not to take a call at a meeting?"

Loki turned around, his back to Tony, looking completely unguarded. He answered the phone casually, "What is it? I'm still talking to Ironman."

"See if you can tap that phone, Jarvis," said Tony.

"Intrusion of privacy, sir? You're most welcome," said Jarvis.

Tony whistled. An eclectic selection of music was on the phone. It was a store-bought phone, nothing fancy, and easily tapped wirelessly.

"Hey there," came Tony's voice, intercepting the phone call and cutting Loki off.

"Who is this?" came the uncertain voice of a young man on the other side of the call.

"Tony Stark speaking," said Ironman, "and who are you?"

"Could you put Loki back on the phone?" said the worried voice. "He's...he's got my little brother."

Tony rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue in extreme disapproval at Loki.

"Sir," came Jarvis's voice, "Mr Rogers is on his way here. The alarm earlier was routed to his cellphone."

"It would be wise to not let him come in here," advised Loki, wagging his finger at Tony. "Accidents might happen if we start fighting."

"Argh," said Tony, which summed up everything he was feeling. "Patch Cap through, Jarvis. Hey, Cap. You're on the way? No, it's nothing. I tripped the alarm on the way up. I'm fixing it now. It's messy. Real messy. Why don't you, uh, grab another coffee outside and come back later when I'm done? Okay. Yes, Mom. Bye." There was moment of silence as the two men stared off.

"Leave the kid behind," said Tony.

Loki took a few steps back out into the open air. Tony pushed the child behind him and walked towards Loki, but before he could get any closer, a massive grey horse came over the edge of the roof, its many unshod hoofs clattering over the concrete.

It bent its knees, lowering itself for Loki to mount. In a swift motion, horse and rider slipped over the edge of the roof into the shadows into the dark where Tony's eyes couldn't follow. Or was too lazy to follow because he had one too many drinks earlier on. Either way, he was letting Loki slip this once as he leaned over the railing at the edge and looked down where everything seemed normal. He scanned the perimeter of his tower and looked in the direction the Norse god disappeared and saw no disturbance on the streets; people were still going about their business. He scratched his chin thoughtfully and decided he owed his AI some sort of apology.

"That was...you were right about the horse, Jarvis."

 

* * *

 

The shadow slipped into a quiet and narrow alley between residential buildings. In the dark, the aluminium stairways of the fire escapes were dimly lit by the few lights that still worked. When the shadow stilled, it took the shape of a massive stallion almost too large for the narrow place. A sharply-dressed rider dismounts the horse and whips out his phone.

"Yes, I'm coming back with Grey Spider, over," said the rider. The grey stallion turned back to a gangly young man devoid of clothing. The rider respectfully turned around as the young man pulled out a stack of folded clothes from a shopping bag under one of the stairs.

"Before you say anything," said the young man as he dressed, "that was really the best I could come up with."

Loki shook his head laughing, "It's not bad at all. 'Please save my little brother, Ironman!' You should consider acting school."

"Stop it," muttered Sleipnir. "I was just worried since you took too long."

"I know," smiled Loki.  
  
The phone in Sleipnir's pocket rang and he hushed Loki as he took the call.  
  
"Yes," said Sleipnir, putting anxiety in his voice. "I'm so glad my brother is safe. You'll keep him with you until I come for him? Thank you so much, Mr Stark."

A press of a button and Sleipnir turned the phone off. He tossed the phone into the nearest bin and held out his hand to Loki, who passed him his own phone to make another call with.

"Grey Spider to Fang, how did your side go?

"Fang to Grey Spider! I think I did great! Broke a few walls no one got hurt, I think. I didn't get shot at because I was fast. I even took the subway all by myself!"

"My little pup is growing up," said Loki, wiping a crocodile tear from his eye.

"Atta boy," said Sleipnir, earning himself a growl over the phone. "We'll head over to the rendezvous point now. Grey Spider, over. Why the heck is my code name Grey Spider? I thought we decided on just 'Grey'?"

"'Cos you looked like one when you were climbing the wall last week. Fang, over," said Fenrir.

"Why do you get to have a cool name,"grumbled Sleipnir, now walking alongside Loki out of the alley into the well-lit streets of New York.

"Because I'm awesome," said Fenrir. Sleipnir could hear him grinning over the phone. "So, was operation Snake a success?"

"I think so," said Sleipnir.

"I don't remember having a codename," said Loki.

"You rejected them all," Sleipnir rolled his eyes.

"How about 'Dad'?" suggested Fenrir.

"It sounds perfect," agreed Loki, turning at the corner and walking into a busy diner filled with young families and noisy youth. At a table near the window sat a young boy on a seat plastered to a handphone. Loki plopped onto the seat across them leveled his eyes at them, and said, "Now who wants a milkshake?"

"Jorm's not going to be happy if he saw me getting one and he's not getting any," said Fenrir, shaking his head.

"But he gets to be with Ironman while you get one measly milkshake," said Sleipnir.

"True," said Fenrir, promptly ordering a large guilt-free milkshake.

 

* * *

  

The next day, Tony received a call from SHIELD, saying Thor would be under his care until further notice due to unforeseen circumstances such as the renovation of their facilities. They must have something to hide but he wouldn't get a straight answer from them. He searched around and found an online tabloid covering a strange appearance of a dark hound with a blurred photo. He supposed he could ask Thor later. Or pry some clues out of the agents who would be escorting him here.

Then there was the problem of the boy Loki left in his place.

The boy's brother hadn't turned up so Tony thought he'd trace the location of the phone and it was nearby. When he found the phone, it was discarded and there were only Loki's prints all over it. He wondered if Loki had gotten hold of the guy but there was no use worrying over something he can't solve. It would be more efficient to track down Loki instead, he decided.

  
Tony wanted to hand the boy over to the police but he did make a promise to keep the boy until his family showed up. This wasn't his problem to fix. The boy didn't want to leave, following Tony like a baby duckling, showing much attention at observing but not saying a word. Tony knew the boy wasn't mute, but he was too quiet for a child. Or at least, children were all noisy little people poking their noses where they don't belong and messing the best laid plans out.

But this boy hadn't done anything. He simply followed. And watched. It was getting on his nerves.

Tony was first to break the silence. "What's your name, kid?"

The boy looked up at Tony, blinked slowly, and shrugged, disinterested in the question.

Tony decided he'll just stick to calling the kid 'kid'. He figured he could leave the kid in the lounge with a TV or a colouring book while he went to his workshop where he could play around with improvements to his alarm system. Perhaps implementing extendable safety nets around his building would be a great addition, just in case he fell out of a window again.

The boy took one look at the television and turned back to Tony, who pointed at the remote on the table. "Be a good kid and stay here for a while until I get a babysitter here, okay?"

He turned his back for one second when he heard a gasp followed by a clink. And the echos of that clink down the ventilator shaft.

"What now?"

The boy looked at Tony, then to the grill of the shaft, and back to Tony.

"Did you drop something down there?"

The boy nodded. Tony groaned. It was going to be a long day.

"The shaft's not a wishing well, you know."

The boy stayed quiet.

If there was just one thing Tony couldn't deal with, it was silence. And people who only shook their heads. He threw his arms in the air and muttered something about leaving little lost kids to the police because this was not his job.

"Look, kid, I'm the Ironman. I'm a good guy and I'm here to help. You can talk to me about anything. I'll even sign an autograph."

The fidgeting boy's eyes wandered about for a while, then rested on the floor. "Daddy said not to talk to strangers," he said.

 _But you went ahead and followed Loki right into my home_ , thought Tony.

"All right, kid. Stay here and don't move. I'll be right back," said Tony as he ran up to one of his fancy offices where Pepper sent him some of the latest Ironman merchandise. For constructive criticism if he had any, she had said, but everyone knew his opinion didn't matter. He pulled out a paper bag and ran back to the lounge. The kid was hadn't moved an inch from the spot. 

Tony shoved the paper bag into the kid's arms.

"A present for you, kiddo. Open up."

The boy peered into the bag and took the box out. His eyes widened and he held out the box with his arms to take a good look at it.

"The latest Mark XVII figurine," the boy said, his voice soft and reverent. "Can I really keep this?" He hugged the box close to his chest and look up to Tony.

Tony grinned.  _Score one for blatant bribery._

"Sure."

"I want one more," said the kid, and quickly added, "please?"

Tony blinked. "Why? I'm not giving you another one to sell on eBay." Kids these days have no shame, he muttered under his breath.

The kid realised what Tony assumed and quickly explained, "My brother will want one too."

"Oh," said Tony, rubbing his head. "I see. Sure, okay."

The evening saw Tony hard at work unscrewing a vent in one of the basement levels and reaching in with a stick. A knock came at his door.

"Come on, Cap, don't tell me you forgot how to open the door again?" yelled Tony, but after hearing multiple beeping errors coming from the keypad, which meant Steve was failing open the door, he gave in and told Jarvis to open the door.

"I tried entering the password before and after sliding the keycard but it didn't work," said Steve.

"The keycard thing's a fake now. I replaced it with voice recognition because you had so much problems with it, remember? All you had to do was speak 'Friend' and enter," said Tony. "I even included a LOTR reference in there just for you."

"Sorry," Steve's shoulders slumped and Tony instantly felt like a party pooper. Not just any silly party pooping but  _the_ party pooper when it came to wholesome Steve who took one too many of his teasing literally, or worse, took him seriously. Tony even tried telling Steve not to take his words seriously and all it did was stop Steve from asking questions when he heard words he didn't know. Tony felt the guilt stab him in his toes when Steve had a Eureka moment after an introduction-to-the-internet video he watched and apologised to Tony for thinking that Facebook was something Tony made up to prank him with by planting a book in his face or something if he asked.

"I'm a little busy here, so help yourself to the drinks," said Tony. He reached an arm down the vent but it wasn't long enough. He looked around for something he could use.

"Dropped something?"

"Not me. Some kid did."

A list of questions went through Steve's head but there was only one word which could sum up what he wanted to ask. "A kd?"

"It's just a kid Loki conveniently had with him last night."

Steve froze. "Loki? So when you told me you tripped the alarm...you lied?"

"There was a kid about him," said Tony. "I couldn't risk hurting a civvie, yeah? Anyway, all he did was say some stuff and left."

"What did he want?"

"Beats me," said Tony. "Damn kid dropped something down my vent. My vent isn't some sort of public trashcan, damn it."

"It sounded like metal on its way down, so perhaps it was a coin," offered Jarvis. Tony wondered if his AI was getting a little too chatty as of late.

"Where's the kid now?" asked Steve.

"He said 'bedtime' once it turned ten and I took him to a guest room next to yours. If only Pepper's in town. She's always been better at handling people. I'm only good with parties. Maybe I should throw one."

"She'd certainly say no to that last suggestion," Steve eyed Tony sternly. "That aside, shouldn't you inform Director Fury about Loki?"

"No way. SHIELD will haul me up for interrogation," said Tony. He threw out the stick and reached his arm in. "Hrmmmgh, I got this."

In a minute, Tony held the object between his fingers. He put it on his worktable and made a quick reading of it. "Looks like a ring. Anyway, don't you tell Fury anything about--"

"Sir," Jarvis interrupted, "you have an incoming call from SHIELD."

"Shit," Tony cursed before the call was wired to him. "Are we bugged?" he mouthed to Steve. Steve, the last person who should be called for technical help, shrugged.

Minutes after the call, the intercom rang. SHIELD was good at shoving efficiency into his face, thought Tony.

Flanked by two black suits at the entrance to the tower, Thor looked glum and out of place in his plaid shirt and jeans.

"Long time no see," greeted Tony, slapping the tall blond's arm. "Looking good, big guy."

"Good to see you, Thor," Steve held out a hand and Thor shook it in apt American custom.

Tony rambled on, "I haven't got your floor ready yet so you'll have to bunk in on Steve's floor."

"You are Ironman and Captain America?" said Thor, sticking out a hand for Tony to shake as well.

Steve stared at him.

It seemed the Ironman did not want to shake his hand so he retracted it. He shook his head and explained, "I'm afraid I have no memory of how I came to be here, or anything that transpired before."

"Don't stand in the doorway, Thunderboy. Come on in," said Tony. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head, walking back to the elevator. "I'm going to catch some sleep. Babysitting duty's on you, Steve. Try not to break things."

"Where is the kid?" asked Steve.

"Our young guest has turned in for the night, Mr Rogers," replied Jarvis.

"I wasn't referring to the kid," said Tony and jerked his thumb at Thor. "Good night, all."

"Oh, you meant babysitting Thor, I mean, looking after, no, never mind."

Thor did not speak as they went up to the level with the guest rooms. Steve's eyes wandered down a small lounge area of his floor as he tried to find a topic to broach.

In the lounge, an old piano sat against a wall, looking out of place with its aged wood and scratched varnish. A gramophone was placed on top of it. Thor's gaze lingered upon it.

"Are you interested?" said Steve, finally breaking the ice. He tapped a finger on the plastic cover of the gramophone. "I could play us a record."

Thor's gaze dropped from the gramophone to the piano instead. "This..."

"It's a piano," said Steve. He opened the cover, revealing a clean but yellowed keyboard.

"Do you play?" asked Thor, desiring to hear someone play it.

It had been only weeks, but to him, it felt like months since he heard piano music. It was strange at first, hearing the sound of a piano every day when he lodged at Loki's apartment. Now it was gone, he found that he missed it. It hadn't been that long, but he missed the life that came to him unexpectedly but stayed like an old friend. He remembered how he had breakfast ready for the children in the mornings, lazy days spent with coffee and muffins at his cafe, piano music wafting through the hallway as he came back just in time to see Loki play the children a lullaby, putting the children in bed, watching Loki smile fondly at his sleeping children, and if he was lucky enough to find Loki in a good mood, allowed to sit in while Loki worked at improving the music he thought was already perfect.

"Sure you don't want to just listen to a record?" Steve chuckled, pulling out a few records halfway off the shelf next to the piano and read the names off them, "There's  _American Patrol_ ,  _The Star-Spangled Man_ \--" he choked for a second and cursed Tony under his breath as he slotted the records back with a hasty "nevermind" to Thor.

"Well," said Steve, "I'm no pianist, but I can get it to play us something."

Thor look of puzzlement turned to anticipation as he saw Steve slid open a hidden compartment above the keyboard to reveal some sort of a winding contraption.

"I've never seen a piano with this sort of mechanism."

"It's a player piano," said Steve, pulling out two foot pedals from another hidden compartment just above the brass foot pedals. "I've seen a few of these around as a kid. Tony got it from a shop and had it restored."

He took a cardboard tube from a few that were on the shelf and brushed his finger over the label as he read it. Thor watched him carefully pull from the tube a roll of paper punched with holes and slotted into the strange machine. Steve sat on the bench and wound the paper in, his feet pressing on the wide foot pedals of the piano. As he slowly pumped the pedals, the keys began to play themselves like a giant music box.

"It sounds good," commented Thor after the first bars. The piano strings were thin and stretched but the music had a jovial gait and the chords thickened and made the sound rich and full. He thought it felt like a Sunday morning's espresso with lots of cream. The coffee Loki seemed to enjoy on those Sundays when he dropped by the cafe before going to work.

"Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue," said Steve. "It's pretty popular."

"I see," said Thor. "Are you learning to play the piano?"

"No," said Steve, looking a little wistful. "I'm probably too old to learn." When the music ended, he closed the cover over the yellowed keys.

 

* * *

_Rhapsody in Blue, George Gershwin. Linked below is a player piano playing the original piano roll recorded by Gershwin in 1925_

[_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H4sz0gKrBM_  ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H4sz0gKrBM) _Player pianos were popular in the early 1900s until the wireless(radio) took over._

 

* * *

  

Steve's shoulders drooped as he stared at the tiny coffee machine, mug in hand, not daring to press anything lest he broke it. He had looked through the cupboards, hoping to find the manual when Jarvis informed him there wasn't one. He supposed he could go to the cafe nearby for today but it seemed a waste to not use what was right in front of him.

Thor walked right up to him and stared at the machine.

"Morning, Thor," said Steve. "If you want coffee, I'm afraid I don't know how to use this."

"Hmm." Thor looked around the drawers and found a box of coffee pods. He picked a pod out and inserted it in, turned the machine on and out came coffee.

Steve picked the box up and saw some instructions written on it. It seemed Thor was faster at picking these things up than him.

"Here," said Thor, passing Steve a pod. Any feeling of embarrassment was swept away when Steve popped the pod in, pressed a button and filled his own cup with coffee.

"It's actually kind of easy," said Steve, amazed.

"Yes," agreed Thor.

Tony walked in to the sight of Thor and Steve scrambling eggs and toasting bread in the kitchen.  
  
"Breaking things so early in the morning? Oh my god, are you two making breakfast," said Tony. "It looks delicious."

"Good morning," greeted Thor, "if you'd like some I can make more."

Tony cocked his head and stared at Thor for a second. "You sound almost American. Where's the whole Shakespeare in the park gig you had back then?"

Thor smiled and blinked, and Tony knew he was just as clueless. "Amnesia, huh. Happens to the best of us," said Tony and reached out to give Thor a friendly slap on the arm. "Call me Tony. So what's your schedule for today?"

"I am hoping to leave after breakfast," said Thor, reaching for more eggs to make Tony's breakfast.

"I'm kind of hoping you won't do that. SHIELD's gonna come after my ass if you bailed on me," Tony sighed. He fiddled with the ring he found in the vent and looked at it in the daylight. It looked like a gold ring but didn't really feel like one. It had an interesting engraving on it. For a moment he thought it might belong to Loki and ran a scan on it but nothing turned up.

Thor thought the ring looked familiar. He'd seen it quite a few times...wasn't that the ring Loki wore?

"That ring—" Thor said before he caught himself.

"What about it?"

He had to make up something quick. "It's...shiny."

Tony chuckled. "Sure it is. Real gold. Some kid dropped it in my vent. He's staying here for now until his parents come for him or something."

"You should give it back to him," said Steve.

"You know what, I'm going to be pretty busy today so why don't you two pass this back to the kid for me?" He tossed the ring carelessly at Thor.

"Sure," said Thor.

"Hey," said Tony on second thoughts, "are you any good with kids?"

Thor paused, letting the sound of the eggs sizzle in the pan take over for a moment.

"Never babysat before?" chuckled Tony.

"It's not that," said Thor, scooping the eggs onto the plate and smiled. "I have fond memories of my last job which involved taking care of children."

"Wow," Tony rubbed his eyes. "Great. Kid's upstairs; all yours now." He fished an omelette from the plate, blew on it a few times to cool it and popped it into his mouth.

Thor nodded. "I'll try my best."

Tony gave them a two-finger salute as he headed back down to his workshop.

Thor washed down his toast with coffee and wondered if his meal would be better if he had muffins.

He remembered the look on Loki's face during a rare moment: surprise, disgust, revelation, anger and lastly, exasperation. All in the span of mere seconds. It was a rare sight.

Steve noticed his mirth. "Something funny?"

"I just remembered how I mistook salt for sugar once," grinned Thor. He carefully omitted that it was Loki he served a salty double expresso to.

"Ah," Steve beamed, "classic one, that."

Thor didn't feel like a second cup and decided to go on upstairs to look for his new charge.

He wondered if the child heard the piano playing last night as he walked past his own room to where a few more guestrooms were. The boy was already out of his room and standing at one of the wall-to-wall windows, hands pressed against it and looking down at the city. Thor's steps alerted the boy, who swiftly turned to watch his approach. Thor's eyes widened in surprise.

"Jorm?"

Jormungandr blinked slow, once, twice, and dipped his head respectfully, which Thor knew by now it was his quiet little way of saying hello.

"What are you doing here?" asked Thor. "Where's uh, your family?" If Jormungandr wanted Loki to be hidden, it would be best not to mention Loki's name.

Jormungandr licked his lips nervously and shook his head. "I don't know."

Thor paused a while, looking for the right question to ask, and remembered something. He fished out a ring from his hip-hugging jeans Darcy insisted he ought to wear frequently and held it out to the boy. "Tony said you dropped this," he explained.

Jormungandr looked to the ring and seemed relieved, his stretched lips relaxing into a clueless half-pout as he took the ring from Thor's open palm.

Thor knew Loki was up to something, but the knowledge within him told him not to pry. Not just yet.

"Thank you," said Jormungandr.

Thor beamed and patted the squirming boy on the shoulder. "So what would you like to do now?"

"I'm hungry."

"Let's go to the kitchen. There's a coffee machine and I know how to use it."

Jormungandr's eyes widened slightly. "Muffins?"

"I don't think they have muffins here."

Jormungandr's eyes narrowed a little, disappointed. That look didn't escape Thor, who knew the boy was just as emotive as his brother Fenrir if you knew where to look.

"Let's go see what we can find, shall we?" tried Thor. Jormungandr nodded and followed him closely. He preferred to move in the shadows if he could. Without Fenrir, his current option was limited to Thor. At least Uncle Thor had a rather generous shadow for him to trail behind in.

 

* * *

  

"How's the prep going?" Sleipnir asked Loki off-handedly. The tall youth gripped Fenrir's open backpack as he ran by, jerking the boy back. Fenrir growled as Sleipnir checked the contents of the backpack once more and asked Fenrir to repeat the plan to him.

"I'm not gonna slip up,  _Slippers_ ," said Fenrir. Sleipnir rolled his eyes. He was not going to stoop to name-calling. He would not. Oh, but Fenrir started it. Before he could pick one out of a dozen names to call the little brat, Loki walked into the room and cut his thoughts off.

"Time for a walk, Fenrir," grinned Loki.

Fenrir gave him a thumbs up and ran out the dressing door and out a staff exit.

Loki looked at Sleipnir and let out a low whistle. "You look, what's the word for it? Ah,  _debonair._ " He reached out and adjusted the little black bow on his son's tuxedo and was met with a withering stare.

"Forgive me if I seem all  _blasé_ about this whole thing," said Sleipnir. "Dropping out of school and waiting on tables gets old really fast."

"Maybe you can try world domination next," suggested Loki. He watched his eldest pull a face and leave the room.

He picked up his phone and pressed the number for Stark Tower. A receptionist picked up and put him through to Stark's personal line when he said it was Avengers business. He got an answering machine and wasn't surprised. He left a message on the machine with a casual mention of mingling with the prestigious upper class at a charity ball nearby.

He opened the door of the dressing room and walked out into the empty corridor. Having established a reputation of being an eccentric pianist who only performed in private functions, word spread fast and the organisers were elated to have him perform for their wealthy sponsors. As for Sleipnir getting his stint, all it took was a well-written resume and a waiter's pet chihuahua being conveniently...misplaced.

There was a speech and some polite clapping, a brief auction involving a few million dollars and finally, the rare performance the guests looked forward to.

Luke Lauson walked out and sat in front of the Fazioli. Most places had the usual Steinways and Yamahas but a wealthy guest lent their rarely-played piano to the ball. The first notes of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2 sounded and conversations hushed as the guests turned from their dinner to watch the artistry. The piano should sound unseasoned but instead, the jumping notes rang out bright enough to fill all corners of the room with its clear sound.

The virtuosity of the artist's playing enraptured the audience for a while, and when they recovered, some of them, hands a little shaky, held their wine glasses to their lips to drink, their minds drunk in the rhythmic chords and running notes that sounded both anchored and flighty.

Tony walked in. He had been invited but had declined and no one saw fit to deny him entrance if he felt up to giving a small donation for the cause of the day.

The lights were dim while the performance went on and it was hard to see if any of the guests here was Loki unless he went up to the guests and checked their faces out up close.

He figured he would wait till the piece finished. He had brought his suit along in the guise of a briefcase and Steve was checking the parameters of the place. Captain America can do the legwork. Tony leaned on one of the few bars where the bartenders prepared the guests' drinks and after making sure the bartender wasn't Loki, ordered a martini and the music got him thinking. Wasn't there a cartoon called Tom and...what was the other name? Gary? Some cat and a mouse fooling around on the piano and he chuckled as he heard something fanfare-like that made him think of can-can dances.

When the dance ended, the lights brightened and the guests clapped, a few  _bravos_ resounded in the room. Tony's phone rang in his pocket.

"How's it going, Cap?"

"A giant dog just attacked me," said Steve. "And then it disappeared."

Jarvis interrupted on his earpiece, "Sir, a few of the creatures emerging from the portal have bypassed the roof's defense and are headed in Mr Rogers's direction."

"Dammit," he turned the call back to Steve. "Hey Cap? There's a leak in the roof. Few hostiles in the vicinity of the tower. I'll get Jarvis to give you the coordinates."

"On it," said the ever-reliable Steve.

"Great. I'll be there as soon a I can," said Tony, quickly putting down his drink and turning his gaze to the stage. The pianist did not bow. He swept his eyes across the room as if looking for something and Tony's eyes widened when the pianist found what he was looking for.

Tony found himself locked in Loki's gaze.

"I see Mr Stark has invited himself to the party," smiled Loki.

The guests turned their diverted attention to Tony and surrounded him, wanting to talk to him.

When Tony cleared himself a path and made his way to the stage, Loki was gone.

"Where—" Tony grabbed a staff by the arm, "where did he—the pianist go?"

"Mr Lauson?" said the staff. "If he's not out here, he's probably backstage."

"Right, thanks," said Tony, and he shoved his way backstage.

The door was left ajar and Loki was leaning his back against the dressing table, his arms folded.

"There you are," said Loki as Tony peeked in. "I was afraid you didn't get the message."

"Is this a hostage situation?"

"I'm not going to ruin a party that has good food and a lovely piano," shrugged Loki.

"So, talk," said Tony, pulling up a chair near the door. Loki splayed his bare hands open and then folded his arms, a convincing display of compliance.

"I want to move in with you," smiled Loki.

"What? Hell, no. We're not that close yet," said Tony.

"We can discuss terms."

"I'm not sure if you'll have anything I'd want. Billionaire, remember?" said Tony, pursing his lips to show his disinterest.

"Hmm, how about Thor? You can have him," said Loki.

"I'm not sure if I want him. Besides, he's already with SHIELD."

"SHIELD had a little problem three days ago, did they not?"

"I'm sure you had something to do with that," guessed Tony.

Loki grinned. He took walked over to Tony, who stood up and glared at him, daring him to attack. He stopped short of a foot from Tony and leaned in to whisper, "I know where Thor's memories are sealed."

With that, he walked out of the room and back to the stage for a second performance. The guests called out for a waltz, for a piece they could dance to and the pianist obliged.

Tony went to the bar counter and sat on a stool, keeping an eye on Loki as the lights dimmed for the romantic hall to become a dance floor. He wasn't in the mood to enjoy himself when Loki introduced his next piece, a popular waltz everyone would know.

After a short few bars, the audience knew it was the Waltz no. 2, and grabbed their dance partners. The music went into a triple beat that was easy to follow as the bass brought out the pulse. The pianist balanced expression with the rhythm of his audience's feet, never letting the fiery chords add to the intensity of the beat of the music. Soon, Tony found himself tapping his feet to the music, the rich chords swinging with weighted momentum like a giant pendulum.

No one wanted it to end, and the pianist knew it from the rhythm of feet on carpet and marble. He added a reprise or two and an extravagant coda, ending it with a satisfying flourish.

Resounding applause and cheers rose, and the audience wondered if Mr Lauson could play anything to top that.

Loki introduced his final piece for the evening. Something American, he said, a piece titled  _Winnsborough Cotton Mill Blues_. Someone recognised it and hummed the tune out loud, and a few laughed along, but instead of playing a familiar folk ballad, he started tinkering with the low notes, and then more low notes, the sound clashed, and it was noise, louder noise and the audience murmured until the hall was drowned in a cacophony of discord. Some sat and some tried to talk but the music was too noisy. Someone broke a glass and the sound fitted right in.

A bass ostinato came in, a familiar blues pattern, but as it repeated, the right hand came in discordant, unwelcome. Part of the music was noise; the industrial sound of a cotton mill, almost unbearable and yet inviting people to stay on and listen to the melody it had to offer. The audience were now immersed in both music and noise and they could not turn away, trying to catch the music over sound; it was conversation steeped in the sound of a churning cotton mill.

Tony ears were straining to hear the music; his attention wholly caught by it. Relief swept over him when the noise gave way to a quiet blues section that finally sounded mostly normal. Or not, he thought when he heard the discordant harmonies pepper what could be a lovely jazz tune.

Couldn't Loki play something normal like a little Mozart or what boring standard repertoire classical pianists usually play? Tony didn't mind relaxing to a little Vivaldi or Rachmaninov but he wanted an avant-garde piece about machine noise, he could simply go to his workshop. Oh wait, he usually wore earplugs for that sort of thing.

When the lovely tune the music was carrying suddenly collapsed to chaos again, Tony grabbed a glass of wine off a waiter's tray and downed it without thought. The music ended and the audience was stunned. They were impressed. The applause was thunderous and the pianist was generously showered with shouts of  _bravo_ and  _encore_.

Loki stood up and bowed, smiling.

 

* * *

 

_Piano trivia for those who don't know pianos: While Steinways and Yamahas are the norm in concerts and competitions, Fazioli is known for being the most expensive line of pianos in the world._

  _An orchestra version of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2_  [ _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goeOUTRy2es_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goeOUTRy2es)

 _The piece was also featured (and made even more popular) by its appearance in an episode of Tom and Jerry_  [ _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97jG4hwxA5o_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97jG4hwxA5o)

 _Dimitri Shostakovich Waltz no. 2, from Suite for Variety Orchestra. A most popular waltz made famous by being in films and popularly performed by Andre Rieu's orchestra.  
This is a piano(arranged) version: _  [ _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTazgHzeD0U_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTazgHzeD0U)

  _Winnsborough Cotton Mill Blues from the Four North American Ballads, by Frederic Rzewski_  [ _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDNy4YuCxdk_  ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDNy4YuCxdk) _I'm sorry my version of Tony Stark doesn't appreciate Loki's fine performance of this wonderful piece. :D_

 _The piece is based on an early American industrial ballad written around the 1920s. Here's the traditional (folk) by Pete Seeger if you just want to catch the melody:_  [ _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSg6sIipjMU_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSg6sIipjMU)

 

* * *

 

"May I take that, Sir?" said the waiter who was standing really close to him. Before Tony could say yes, the young man took his glass, put it on the table and discretely grabbed his arm with tremendous strength. "Please follow me."

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" said Tony, his protest drowned out by the encores and applause the audience was giving while Mr Lauson politely declined. Tony reached for his briefcase and the motion triggered the briefcase to fly towards him. Good thing he fixed a homing device to this thing. It wasn't perfect and slammed into his chest, knocking the air out of him, but he felt better with his Ironman suit-case,  _pun intended_ , in his arms as he was half-dragged away to the staff exit on the side.

"I mean you no harm, Mr Stark. Hold on tight," said the waiter, and Tony promptly found himself on the back of a giant spider, no, horse-like creature. He thought perhaps he ought to scream but instead, he instinctively grabbed hold of the horse's dark mane with his free hand and dug his heels into the beast's sides. Falling off a high horse literally would not be a good idea as the horse leapt into the air, ledge by ledge, roof by roof, chasing the shadows of the brightly lit city.

They arrived at a shopping mall, now after hours and quiet. Dim lights lit an old fountain. The horse gently bent its knees and allowed Tony to carefully dismount before shifting back to human form. He was unclothed but he did not seem to mind.

"Hey, uh," said Tony.

"The name's Grey," said the young man.

"Right. You can have my jacket, Grey," offered Tony.

"I've got my own," said the young man, grabbing a backpack inconspicuously left under a bench near the fountain and pulling out clothes.

"Came prepared, huh."

"Yep."

"So why are we here?"

"I want to show you something," said Grey, tossing something into the still waters of the fountain.

"I think I've seen quite enough for the evening," said Tony, rolling a tired shoulder. Grey looked at him expectantly. Tony rolled his eyes instead. "All right, what is it?"

"A vision of the future as it is now."

The surface water glimmered and Tony caught a glimpse of images from the surface silvered by the lamps. Instead of a movie, the images seemed to be speaking to him in his head. He saw, no, felt a dark presence. A crack in a looking-glass, unending darkness, and the smoking ruins of the world. Loki grinning like a madman with blood on his hands surrounded by creatures out of a fantasy book. A hammer, Thor dead on the ground.  
  
Bloodied green eyes, unending darkness.  
  
Darkness.  
  
Only darkness.  
  
Tony screamed when he saw into the darkness and it reached into him and  _saw_ him. He stumbled back and fell, breathing heavily, rubbing his face and trying to get the choking feeling out from his chest.

He gasped when he was lifted to his feet by the a taller man.  _Green eyes, unending darkness_. He flinched and shook Loki away.

"It's all right," coaxed Loki. "That wasn't real." A large wolf stood behind him, one of the beasts that stood in the ruins. Loki held up a hand and it took a few steps back, away from the light.

"The hell was that," gasped Tony.

"Tony!" Steve had managed to follow the wolf and tracked them down. He looked at Tony and then to Loki. "What did you do to him?"

He fell in a defensive pose as Grey stepped between them and struck the first blow. The young man's kick was swift and strong as Steve dodged, watching the concrete crack from the blow. He struck back and Grey deflected his punch with a strike to his forearm.

Tony groaned. His head was heavy and Steve was fighting that young waiter from the party and they were making a din. Loki was walking over to him, presumably to do something bad because he looked pretty pissed. He grabbed his suitcase and with a touch of a button, he was suited up in seconds.

Tony raised his arm in defense but the giant hound bounded out from nowhere and knocked him over and had him pinned to the floor. This was one heavy puppy.

"Tony!" Steve ran over to help. The beast jumped back and growled.

"Why—" gasped Tony as he got back to his feet and pointed both his pulsars at their opponents. "Why did you show me that?"

"Calm down, Stark. What you saw was merely a vision," said Loki, taking a step closer with his palms upturned in a gesture of goodwill. "I mentioned it at our last meeting, remember?"

"The hell," said Tony. His breath caught as panic churned in his stomach. What he saw when the portal opened was something that chilled his blood more than any nightmare and it was replaying in his head. His head was heavy, his vision blurring.

"Stay away," hissed Tony.

Loki took a step.

Tony fired a shot. Loki fell.

Grey and the wolf ran to Loki, who lay on the ground. When Tony came to his senses, Loki was groaning, pressing the wound on his side that was now freely bleeding.

He had meant it to be a warning shot, a low-level repulsor beam. He had meant to shoot past Loki, but in his shaken state, missed. He missed trying to shoot air. It couldn't be more embarrassing than that. But Loki was supposed to block it.

Or dodge it.

Or eat it.

Not take it on and bleed.

"Why didn't you block that?" said Tony, stunned.

"I can't, as you can see," said Loki, sitting up slowly with Grey's help.

"Where's your fancy magic?"

"I don't have it," said Loki, plainly. He assessed himself. He took a breath, relieved his lungs were fine. His ribs, however, took a hit. Probably a cracked rib or two and a flesh wound that didn't run too deep. Prompt medical attention would be preferred, he thought.

"Now would be a good time to offer me assistance before I run the risk of bleeding out," said Loki, calmly taking Sleipnir's offered jacket and pressing it against his wound.

"We'll help you if you surrender quietly," said Steve. "We need assurance you will cooperate with us."

"Okay, sounds like a plan," said Tony, his voice still shaky. "I can arrange a private stay at the hospital."

"No hospitals. I'd like to keep it off the records," said Loki. "I'm sure your Avengers-customised building has medical facilities I can use."

"Get us a private doctor," Grey demanded. He then slid an arm under Loki to help him stand. "I'll take us to the tower. Can you hold on?"  
  
"Or we can call a taxi, you know," contributed Tony.

"I'm faster. Follow close, Fen."

The giant wolf padded over and nuzzled him and Loki. Grey shifted and leapt into the skies with Loki, not waiting for anyone.

"Right. Decide everything without me. I'll call Bruce. He'd be more than happy to see you. Maybe even turn a lovely shade of green," muttered Tony.

 

* * *

 

Thor couldn't sleep. How could he, when he knew Loki was injured? He did not see Loki when he arrived, so when he saw Sleipnir leave the room, his hands and shirt covered in blood, he was burning with questions but held his tongue when he saw he would only be in the way.

Steve ushered a man into the makeshift medical facilities and then came out to tell Thor that it was Bruce Banner, a scientist and a doctor and asked if Thor remembered Bruce. Noticing Thor's anxiety, he asked, "You remember Loki?"

Thor did not know how to reply. "He, uh, helped me out some time ago."

Steve nodded and pat Thor's shoulder. "I'll be going to get some supplies in case Bruce and Tony run out."

Fenrir paced the floor a little away from Thor and kept muttering something about it being his fault and how he could have stopped it. Jormungandr had gone ashen and climbed up to sit on the couch, hugging his sketchbook.

Sleipnir looked to Thor. "I need to...step out for a while," he said, and glanced briefly at the two younger boys.

"I'll watch them," promised Thor. "Get some rest if you can."

"Thanks," said Sleipnir. He dragged his feet as he wiped blood off his hands with the edge of his already soiled shirt.

Thor leaned against the wall and wondered what he could do to help Fenrir and Jormungandr cheer up. He noticed Hela was not here but supposed it wasn't perhaps the right time to ask. Hela always had a way with her brothers. Whenever they were worried about her, she would ask them to do something and they would be happy to oblige. An idea struck Thor.

"Let's go to the kitchen and make something to eat," said Thor. There still weren't any muffin premixes for him to work with, but he'd come up with something.

The boys looked glum as they moved, partially motivated by Fenrir's growling stomach.

After Thor made them a quick peanut butter toast, he thought up a suggestion.

"Loki will be hungry after all that. Let's make him a good meal," said Thor.

The children brightened up at the idea. They soon grew eager as they competed with each other at making the bigger, better sandwich. Thor took everything out from the refrigerator and cupboards, letting them have whatever they could want.

They exhausted themselves an hour after and went to sleep in Thor's room after Thor's assurance he would wake them when the doctor was done. Thor cleaned up the counter and wrapped up the sandwiches. All that was missing was a hot mug of coffee, he thought to himself and smiled.

Steve popped by the kitchen as Thor sipped at his coffee, watching the children sleep.

"Still up? I thought you've gone to bed already," said Steve, keeping his voice low, conscious of the late hour. "Bruce was done a while ago. It wasn't anything serious. He'll be fine."

Thor stood up immediately. "Can I go see him?"

"Sure, I'll come with you," said Steve, knowing Tony wouldn't want Thor alone with Loki.

 

* * *

 

Loki woke up on a bed that wasn't too comfortable. He had expected to be drugged or restrained while being treated but there was nothing of the sort. The room was simple, filled with tools and things scattered all over, some machinery and a tray of bloodied gauze. He groaned as his senses started to feel the dull, throbbing pain in his side. The pain didn't let him sleep long.

Tony wheeled over a chair and straddled it, staring at Loki until Loki's eyes focused back onto his. "Couldn't sleep?"

Loki quirked his brow in amusement and said, "Were you waiting for me?"

Tony twirled his finger at Loki. "That's quite a few scars you've got there. I thought you Asgardians healed fast enough not to leave scars."

"Why, interested in the stories behind them?" teased Loki, his finger absently tracing a particular long scar that ran across his stomach.

"No thanks. So, 'fess up. What the hell is going on?"

"You'll have to be more specific," said Loki. He looked around the room and asked, "Where are they?"

"Huh?" asked Tony. He blinked a few times. "Oh, you mean Black Beauty and Baskerville Puppy? They're in the building. Pretty interesting to see an overgrown pup turn into a little boy. So the kid you left behind the other day is probably yours too, huh."

"However did you guess?" Loki smiled sweetly.

"Really?" said Tony. "That doesn't clear anything up. So, what's the deal? What was that 'vision of the future' mumbo jumbo I saw last night?"

Loki closed his eyes and took a long breath. " _Ragnarok,_ " he said softly.

"What's that mean?"

"What will be put in motion if we do not succeed in closing the gate," said Loki.

"I saw you in that vision," said Tony quietly. "You were laughing over the whole thing."

"You have seen what is beyond that gate, or portal, as you call it. You know what it does—what was that Midgardian metaphor—'fries your brain'," said Loki, and added almost reluctantly, "I saw it too before I was found by the Chitauri and ordered to come to Midgard."

Tony swallowed hard and sucked in a breath. "So you're saying it wasn't your fault you had to come here and wage war? That the Chitauri forced you to come here and kill innocent people? You looked a little too eager the last time you tossed me out a window so I'm not buying that, you know."

"I chose the path of conquering Midgard because the alternative was unthinkable."

"What was the alternative? Oh." Tony stopped for a moment when realisation sank in. "I only saw a glimpse of it. I was there for maybe about two seconds. When you mentioned the alternative to working with the Chitauri was worse, you meant..."

"I was trapped in that...place, for two years," his fingers curling into fist.

Tony took a step back. Even if Loki deserved punishment for his crimes, imprisonment and even death were far better  _alternatives_ to being trapped in the darkness.

"How do you stay sane after all that?" Tony blurted out.

Loki leveled his eyes at Tony and changed the topic. "As for what happened after, it was either helping the Chitauri and becoming a puppet king or going back into the darkness after perhaps a few years of torture."

"So you went with the first option," said Tony.

"There was a third," said Loki, a devious smile crossing his face.

Tony perked up, catching the drift. "You came here pretending to take over Midgard, planned to fail most spectacularly by being Hulk-smashed to the ground and have Thor haul you back to Asgard where you'll be safe?"

Loki winced at the mention of the Hulk. "It didn't matter whether I succeed in conquering Midgard. It was a matter of time before Asgard's armies would come when they hear about the tesseract."

"You were buying time," observed Tony. "But why didn't they come this time?"  
  
"The Allfather is asleep and the warriors are busy battling these same creatures of darkness on another front. Midgard is the least of their concerns."

Tony rested his chin on the top of the chair, "So, what's with the wanting to stay with me deal?"

"I needed a place to stay that was as near to the gate as possible."

"Well, you've got what you wanted."

"Not quite what I was aiming for," said Loki, easing back into the bed, a lazy smile spreading on his face as if he had already won.

"There are conditions and rules for your surrender," said Tony. "First, you're to keep that on at all times."

Loki lifted his arm and looked at the thin metal strap already snug around his wrist. "A tracker?"

"You catch on quick," admired Tony. "Your companions must also wear them."

"The terms are between you and me. I will take responsibility for the others," said Loki.

"Does that include the spidery-horse guy? Heck, all right," relented Tony. He had never seen Loki care so much for someone else. "If they so much as step out of bounds, on your head be it."

"Lastly, I don't trust you and you should know that. Honestly, I don't really believe the story about the end of the world thing but the saying goes: 'keep your enemies closer'. By the way, what did you do to Thor?"

"I didn't do anything to him," said Loki, smiling as he knew it was a bait. "Why do you think that?"

"Whatever." Tony knew he wouldn't get answers from his new annoying house guest and decided to let it be. He sorely needed rest. Someone else can deal with this. Someone who was preferably not Bruce. "I'm keeping Bruce away from you for his sake. He doesn't hold back once he's angry."

"You have my gratitude," said Loki. And gratitude was the last thing Tony had expected from the god of lies.

 *

When Thor and Steve came to visit Loki, Tony was gone. The room was dimly lit and a camera on the wall quietly observed all movement.

"Loki?" said Thor, walking over to Loki's bedside without caring if Steve was there.

Loki slowly cracked open his eyes and seeing Thor, tried to sit up.

Thor placed a hand on his chest gently to stop him. "You need to rest."

"I could use a double espresso right now," said Loki, and gave Thor a tired smile. It was enough to put Thor at rest.

"Go back to sleep. I'll bring Sleipnir and the others over for breakfast when you wake," he said.

 

* * *

 

Loki had seen a tapestry in Frigga's chambers before he fell. It hung from the top of the wall and flowed down, filled with colours and small red streaks woven in and out of the tapestry. Red threads pooled at the bottom, unfinished. The threads shimmered and the colours seemed to shift as he moved his gaze. At the time, he never understood why but he knew it was beautiful.

He saw the tapestry once more after he returned to Asgard as a prisoner. It was not long after when Odin quietly slipped into the Odinsleep. That night, Thor escorted him from his prison to Frigga's chambers. Thor was stolid and without cheer, even with Midgard at peace and him now having a secret path to Midgard forged by the Tesseract when they returned. He was in no mood to tease the Thunderer too, for he was busy with thoughts of what Frigga would have wanted with him.

They walked into a room, a beautiful golden chamber with nothing but that same single tapestry that adorned the pale walls. Loki's eyes were affixed on the tapestry, and he heard voices and saw words and pictures in the threads. As his eyes followed a golden thread that wiggled in and out between the other colours, he saw how it was consumed by knots of red, and as if it bled out, it was not found amongst the red threads that hung loose at the bottom.

"I have brought him here, Mother," said Thor.

Frigga stood from her chair and went over to Loki, grasping his hand with her own. "Can you see it?" she asked.

Loki's mouth was dry when he tore his eyes away from the tapestry to look at her. He swallowed. He looked to Thor. Thor shook his head. Then it hit him. He had known the choice to make when he was captured by the Chitauri. He had known he would fail in the conquest of Midgard. He had seen all of it coming.  
  
Now he realised why he knew. Yggdrasil's roots shaped the future of the worlds, and Frigga, a powerful seer, had woven parts of what she saw of Yggdrasil into her tapestry. Loki knew he must have passed near the roots of Yggdrasil when he fell. The darkness which drove him to the brink had also enabled him to subconsciously unravel what he remembered of the tapestry.  
  
His fingers followed the threads and it revealed a further future ahead. It was filled with madness, and he recoiled when he saw his path.

"My son," said Frigga, her hands trembled slightly as she grasped his. "A shadow lies ahead of us; the darkest at your feet. If there is a way out at all, it is yours to find."

"How can Loki see a way when you could not?" said Thor. "You are the best Seer in Asgard."

"The way out is not for me to seek," said Frigga.

Loki steeled himself and turned back to the tapestry. He traced a finger down a thin, almost colourless path from edge to edge.

"I see a path without a road," he turned to Frigga, who looked into his eyes and gave him a grim smile.

"The blessings of the All-Mother go with you, my child."

With that, he turned away and stormed out the room. Thor followed close.

"Mother has advised me that my path is to be forged with my own hands," asked Thor. "I do not know what lies ahead except this calamity she speaks of. I wish I too had the gift of reading her threads."

Loki stopped in his tracks and spun around. He slammed Thor into the wall and snarled, "It is not a gift, but a curse. You would not wish for that if you knew the price I had to pay."

Thor calmly took Loki's hand away from him. "I apologise. I spoke too lightly of the matter."

At Thor's apology, Loki's anger faded. He knew he overreacted from the fear he felt when he saw the impending darkness that was to come. After a moment, Thor asked, "What is the calamity that is to befall us?"

" _Ragnarok_ ," Loki whispered the word like a taboo.

Thor narrowed his eyes. One does not speak of such a thing lightly.

"You think me a liar," observed Loki.

"Aye, I wish it were not so, but it is very hard to trust you," said Thor. "Still, speak, and I shall listen."

"A world of darkness waits on the edge of ours to dye our future in their colours. Soon I will turn to madness and throw the world into chaos. A sickness will fester in all the worlds of Yggdrasil as the rot takes hold. That is the future I have seen."

"How it will come to be? Can we not prevent this by keeping you safe here in Asgard?"

"You are most optimistic. Another man would simply send an assassin to cut my throat upon hearing such prophecies," chuckled Loki. He looked Thor in the eye. "But I will lose my mind; that is for certain."

"How do you know this? Are you ill?" asked Thor.

"When I fell—" he stopped, taking a deep breath and steadying himself. He tried again. "When I fell, I saw a world of darkness. This world passes through the roots of Yggdrasil; a shadow to those on the tree's branches. It lies in wait to consume what falls in its path."  
  
Loki paused, pressing his fingers to his temple as if in pain. "Between the roots of Yggdrasil. That was where I fell."  
  
Thor took Loki's arm and held him steady. Loki continued. "The Chitauri themselves ventured through the dark world. They had gotten a hold of the tesseract and every gate they create from that world is tainted. There are cracks in our world the darkness seeps through, but they need the seed of chaos to sprout before they can take root here.

"During the battle in Midgard, the sceptre I wielded was a malicious weapon that could turn the hearts of even gods. I did all I could to shield myself from its power. It has weakened me considerably and the dark world calls out to me. They wish me to be that seed of chaos."  
  
"Perhaps we can seek out the maker of this weapon; or find a healer. There must be a cure," suggested Thor.

Loki shook his head. "I fear we have neither time nor means to pursue those options."

"Then what should we do?"

Loki licked his lips and tapped his chin with a finger in thought, "I saw no path I can walk that does not lead to madness."

"That cannot be. You said in front of Mother that there was perhaps a way," Thor frowned.

At this, Loki gave him a lopsided smile. "Do you not see? If all paths lead to the end, then we should simply stop walking. The future may change yet, for Yggdrasil continues to grow. The only thing we can do now is to buy time for other possible futures to emerge."

"Can such a thing be done?"

"Only with your help," said Loki.

"What must I do?" asked Thor.

"Fall with me," smiled Loki.

 

* * *

 

Loki woke, feeling sore all over. Early evening, he surmised from the yellow light filtering through the drawn curtains. Has he slept that long, he wondered. He tried moving his fingers and they felt stiff. He shifted slightly and found the pain had lessened considerably. He yawned and tried to sit up.

"Good afternoon, Mr Lauson," came a voice from the ceiling. "I shall inform the others you are awake."

He hadn't even counted to three before the doors burst open and in came Thor.

"You're awake," gasped Thor, running to his side.

"I suppose I overslept," said Loki, sitting up without much assistance. Thor quickly helped arranged pillows behind his back.

"You slept for three days," said Thor, worry still written on his face.

"I was tired," said Loki. "Where am I?"

"This is my room. I thought you might be more comfortable here."

Fenrir and Jormungandr came in a moment later, accompanied by Stark.

"Where is Sleipnir?" asked Loki.

Thor raised a brow. Was Loki not going to hide the fact they were his children?

"Who's Sleipnir?" asked Stark.

"Oh, that would be Grey," said Loki nonchalantly, as if his slip-up was intentional.

"He said something about being fed up with you up to here-" Fenrir raised his hand to his chest, then corrected himself and leveled it to his neck,"- with your antics and he doesn't want to see you."

"What is a teenager without a little rebellion," said Loki, his eyes filled with mirth.

"You should apologise," said Jormungandr, climbing into the bed that was all Loki no longer Thor's.

"Yes, I should," said Loki, running a hand through Jormungandr's hair. "Tell him I'm sorry, will you?"

"You should apologise too," said Jormungandr, looking at Tony with stone cold eyes.

"Woah." Tony blinked. "What did I do?"

Loki smiled sweetly at him. "You shot me."

Tony glared at him. "Why are these kids all over you anyway?"

"They are mine," said Loki without batting an eyelid. Thor raised a brow.

"Huh, that explains—wait, yours? As in,  _your_ kids?"

"This is Jormungandr, whom you have already met. This here is Fenrir," said Loki, nudging them off the bed to relieve the pressure they were putting on his wounds.

Jormungandr continued to stare, his eyes large and glossy, until Tony put his hands up in mock surrender. "All right, I apologise. I'm sorry for shooting Loki by accident. I promise not to shoot him unless he tries to kill me."

Jormungandr seemed to accept his apology and turned to Loki to give him a hug. Loki winced, his ribs still very, very sore. Fenrir did the same and they then went off to look for Sleipnir to tell him Loki was sorry.

"Your kids aren't evil, unlike you," said Tony. "Colour me amazed."

"You could come up with a better insult," said Loki. "If you could excuse us, I wish to speak with Thor."

"Oh sure," said Tony, leaving the room and not mentioning that Jarvis was and always would be watching anyway. He thought he was dealing with  _weird_ pretty well today and gave himself a pat on the back.

When Tony was gone, Thor pulled a chair to sit by Loki's side. Loki leaned back and slid down the pillow a little, his exhaustion showing.

"You should rest," suggested Thor. He reached out but Loki brushed his hand away firmly.

"I slept for three days," said Loki, his voice a little hoarse from disuse. "I am healed." He leveled his eyes at Thor. "You must be filled with questions."

Thor blinked and without much thought, said, "Are you hungry?"

Loki chuckled, and groaned as his ribs ached.

"Thirsty," said Loki. "I could use something strong."

"Tony's left you some painkillers on the drawers if you want them," said Thor. "I'll get you a glass of water."

"No, it's all right. I will get it myself," said Loki. He pushed away the sheets and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, getting to his feet, a hand pressing against his injured side. Thor offered his hand but Loki did not take it. Instead, he steadied himself against the wall and hobbled over to the dresser for a shirt. There was a paper bag atop the dresser with newly purchased clothes still in their wrappers. Given the colours were to his taste, he assumed it was probably Sleipnir he should thank rather than Stark's hospitality.

"Let me help," said Thor.

Loki ignored him, putting the shirt on and buttoning it up. He turned around, and Thor took the hint to turn away as he exchanged his pajama bottoms for a pair of well-tailored suit pants and leather shoes. When Thor turned his gaze back when he head Loki walk to the adjoining bathroom. When he came out minutes later, he was standing straight and folding his sleeves up his arm. He ran a hand through his hair, smoothing it behind his ears.

He smiled at Thor, but Thor couldn't return the favour. There was no humour in his lips, only hard lines and eyes that looked far out beyond Thor.

It was the look of a man about to cry.

 

* * *

 

_Take back what's yours. Pay back Asgard for their crimes against you and yours._

_Avenge your children. Avenge yourself._

_Let everything burn._

"Shut up," said Loki. He let the notes drown out his thoughts.

_You're tired, and you're barely hanging on. Let me in. We'll have so much fun watching them burn. We'll have the last laugh._

"Shut up!"

Loki scratched at his arms, but the itch runs in his blood and no amount of scratching could relieve it.

 

* * *

 

After a sleepless night, the last thing Tony wanted to see was Loki leaning against the counter in his kitchen drinking coffee like he pays rent.

"You're all sunshine and puppies in the morning," growled Tony.

" _Afternoon_ ," corrected Loki.

"I've been analysing the frequencies around the portal, and whatever's leaking from the other side of the portal is definitely alien. I could build a shield that phases that frequency somewhat and it might just reduce their fighting power. Heck, I don't know what it'll do but I'll do it. Don't you have any other ideas?"

"Your problem. By the way, do you not have a decent piano in here?" said Loki.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Natasha and Clint took out the last one and I haven't replaced it since. Nobody plays one around here."

"I play," said Loki.

"You're not exactly a valued guest," said Tony. "Besides, I'm not sure I want to put up with hearing you play all day long."

"Then I shall have to get one myself," said Loki. He looked around and walked to a counter and picked up a phone receiver to dial. When the other end picked up, he spoke through a smile, "I'm Luke Lauson. You gave me your personal number the other night. I'm staying at Stark Tower but Mr Stark sorely lacks a piano. Dreadful, isn't it? Oh, would you? Ah yes, thank you for providing the Fazioli the other day. Delivery and tuning within the hour? Oh, you don't have to—"

Tony snatched the phone from Loki. "Hello, Tony Stark speaking. Sorry to interrupt you. Please don't send the piano over. Yes, no, yes, I've ordered one and it will be on the way. I apologise for the misunderstanding."

"Damn it," cursed Tony after hanging up the phone. "Fine, I'll get you that piano. Can't have people thinking I'm a miser."

"Why, thank you, my gracious host," said Loki, grinning.

"I hate you," said Tony. He grabbed a Starkpad lying on a table nearby and handed it to Loki, then dug out a credit card from his wallet. Loki raised a brow at him.

"You're not leaving the tower, fancy-fingers," said Tony. "I'm sure you can find something online. Oh, and all purchases made with this card will be monitered so have fun."

Loki figured out the voice command feature on the tablet in seconds and soon a list of piano shops in the region came up. He leaned against the counter and scrolled through the list.

Tony peered over the tablet. "So, are you getting one of those fancy special-made Fabio pianos?"

Loki rolled his eyes, not bothering to correct him. "No, that is not required. A generic one would suffice."

"You disappoint me. I thought you'd be pickier than that," said Tony.

Loki purchased a walnut grand, favouring a make with a mellow tone over the popular bright, ringing ones. It was delivered and tuned within the day. The warm colour and sound suited Thor's spacious room. He got to work without delay, opening a box of scores delivered with his purchase. Soon, the chairs and carpet were filled with books.

"It's a really pretty piano," commented Thor as it was being tuned.

"It's not too bad," said Loki, the usual sharpness absent from his voice.

"You look pale," said Thor. "Are your injuries still hurting?"

"I'm fine," said Loki, a corner of his lips twisted into a smile. Living with Thor had made him soft and made Thor a little too observant for his liking. He ignored Thor and picked out a book with the word  _Kinderscenen_ on the cover and lay it flat on the piano's music rack.

The moment the first note was played, Thor stopped talking and sat on the edge of the bed

The room felt still as the quiet music filled the room, making it seem even quieter than it was; the pauses between the notes fragile. Loki's face was still, but his slightly curved fingers moved gracefully with the music like ebbing waves.

The last notes slipped into silence and the piece was over too soon.

"What's this piece called?" said Thor, his voice soft.

" _Träumerei,_ " said Loki, a tired smile on his lips.

"It sounds beautiful," said Thor, the lines around his eyes wrinkled in mirth. Loki wanted to kiss him right there.

_Oh, you do like him, do you not?_

Loki jolted.

_Ah, I see you are surrounded by Midgardian toys._

Loki closed his eyes and covered his ears.

_A useless gesture. I have seen enough through your eyes._

"What's wrong?" said Thor.

"They're here. Go tell Stark the gate is open." Loki swatted away Thor's concerned hand. "Now."

Thor could only obey.

"Mr Laufey?" came the AI's voice from the ceiling. "Everyone is at the portal. Mr Odinson has expressed concern for your well-being."

"Is Stark closing the portal?"

"He is working on it."

The boys came running into his room.

"Daddy?" called out Jormungandr. Sleipnir and Fenrir followed closely behind.

"Get out of here," hissed Loki.

A bellow of black smoke wends its way through the hall and from the darkness walked out a shadow. Loki narrowed his eyes as the shadow took the form of who he knew best.

"Sleipnir, Jormungandr, go to Stark. Fenrir, to Thor. Protect them."

Without argument, the children ran to their posts.

"Loki," greeted the shadow, his eyes were blown and his voice throaty and harsh.

"Loki," Loki returned the greeting. His shadow form was in full armour, Gungnir in his hand. His green and gold smelled of blood and fire; the brightness of his colours drained from him with every victorious battle.

"It is good to finally see you," said shadow Loki. "Come join me. Plunge this world into chaos and together, we will rule over all of Yggdrasil itself."

"What if I refuse?" suggested Loki.

"There is nothing left for you here," rasped the shadow. "You know it to be true when I whispered to you of the betrayal and despair we have suffered."

Loki kept his silence.

The shadow walked around the piano, trailing a finger across the keys.

"A fascinating toy. You seem most taken with Midgard. Why, you dress as one of them. That your world has eluded my sight so long..." the shadow grabbed Loki by the neck. Loki struggled, but his shadow was stronger. "There seem to be not a speck of power left in you to resist. Where has your magic gone?"

Loki's shadow threw him across the room. He crashed into the chairs and unpacked boxes and coughed for air. "You know why," he wheezed.

"The Allfather," sneered the shadow. "In many worlds, magic was stripped from us as punishment for the invasion of Midgard." He strode to where his other self lay and rested on his haunches. He took Loki's face in his hand and looked into his eyes.

"There is hatred, but not despair in your eyes," said the shadow. "This world has been good to you. Perhaps... _Thor_."

Loki kicked at the shadow, who swiftly jumped back. The shadow clicked his tongue. "Have I struck too close?"

Loki glared at him.

"You will betray him, and he will stop forgiving you," said the shadow. "Why cling on to such futile hope? I can give you your magic back, make you king of this world."

"To lord over ashes until the end of time?" said Loki. "You are mad."

"Perhaps I am," hissed the shadow. "You will be too, when I take him from you."

"No!"

The shadow disappeared in smoke, and Loki knew where it was headed to.

_Thor._

 

* * *

 

_Kinderscenen Op. 15, Scenes From Childhood by Robert Schumann._

_He's playing "Träumerei" (Dreaming) is one of the most popularly performed pieces from the set.  
The standard grand pianos usually are made for large concert halls so Loki would have picked a piano with a more mellow, darker tone to suit the smaller place. Here's Horowitz performing Träumerei_ [ _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq7ncjhSqtk_ ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq7ncjhSqtk)

  
_Personally I'm inclined towards the idea he picked a piano with a similar tone to a Schimmel because it's my favourite (I'm just biased, really). How a Schimmel sounds like:_  [ _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gW7-iDZFBU_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gW7-iDZFBU)

 

* * *

 

On the roof, a barrier of electricity surrounded the portal hanging overhead. The main barrier kept most of the enemies from spilling out the portal, and those who did were promptly blasted back to the other side by Tony. He noticed the creatures that breached the portal were varied; from shambling undead looking men to slobbering fanged beasts which looked equally dead, it was a nightmarish looking army, much different from the straggly strays that made it out when the portal was but a crack. The second wave of onslaught was over, he gleamed from the readings, and it should be a while until the next one.

"Jarvis, how much time before the third wave?"

"Approximately six minutes, sir. The energy surge should subside and become more receptive to phasing."

"Yeah, and I'll neutralise the heck out of this portal after that," said Tony. There was a brief respite after the second flood of creatures; the portal had reached its maximum diameter according to Tony's calculations and should start to close up after the next wave.

"How's it going down there, Grey?" Tony hopped off the barrier generators and landed next to Jormungandr, who was prowling the perimeter of the roof.

"There are undead Asgardian among the enemy. If more than a few of those soldiers come through, we'll be no match," said Sleipnir.

"Huh, we'll just have to keep them on the other side then," said Tony. "Hey, where did Thor go?"

"He's getting another generator," said Sleipnir. "One of these blew up just now."

 

* * *

  

Thor ran down the hall after exiting the elevator. Jarvis had kindly directed him to where some spare generators were. He grabbed one and tucked it under his arm. It was heavy and slowed him down. Fenrir went ahead and held the elevator open.

Loki materialised in the elevator and stepped out to greet them.

"Loki?" said Thor. "Are you all right?"

"I am well," said shadow Loki, straightening his jacket. He stretched his arm out. "These clothes are very light."

Fenrir growled. This man did not smell like his father.

"Fenrir, my child," smiled the shadow. "Come with me."

A black wolf descended upon the shadow, rending it apart, but all his claws caught was a dark smoke that gathered and took shape of his father on the other end of the hall.

Shadow Loki's suit turned back to armour, and he went for Thor, who had put the generator down and was ready to fight.

"So powerless and yet as fearless as you were in Asgard," grinned the shadow. A chill filled the air as frost daggers glided through the air. Fenrir jumped between them and the blades embedded themselves in Fenrir skin. Fenrir growled and leapt, pouncing on the shadow, who melted into smoke once more and delivered a powerful kick to Fenrir's side, sending him flying right to the elevator.

"I would have gladly shown you mercy but get in my way and your next breath will be your last," the shadow warned the wolf.

 

* * *

 

 

"Target has appeared near the elevator three floor above yours, Mr Laufey," came Jarvis's voice from the ceiling.

"Thank you, Jarvis," said Loki.

The elevator with roof access was not working, leaving him with the option of the stairs. Jarvis was astoundingly useful. He was out of breath when he pushed open the door and exited the stairwell.

Fenrir ran at the shadow again. Being indoors restricted his movements. All he could do was to be a wall for Thor.

Thor knew he was of no use here, and yelled for Jarvis to find help. He grabbed a chair and threw it at the shadow, who dodged it as it smashed against the wall. The shadow wove his way up to Thor and swung his spear down.

He did not strike Thor, who had raised an arm to shield himself.

Fenrir's jaws were tight around his arm, his fangs sinking into flesh and bone. The shadow dropped his spear. With his free arm, the shadow conjured a blade of ice and thrust it up Fenrir's jaw.

The wolf howled in pain and let go. Both his and the shadow's blood splattered on the floor as he pawed at the ice blade, trying to get it off. The distraction was enough for the shadow to teleport to Thor and drive Gungnir through his back.

"Such good timing," grinned the shadow as Loki arrived on scene. He drew out the spear and threw down Thor's writhing body, and drove the spear down once more.

"No!" yelled Loki. He reached for the shadow, but Fenrir was faster. The wolf had shaken off the ice blade and shoved the shadow off Thor. The shadow howled and with a blast of wind, flung his attackers off.

"Be quiet," said the shadow. He grabbed Loki by the neck and threw him across the hall. "You will thank me when it is over."

A hand clung onto the shadow's ankle. He looked down.

Loki watched on in horror the unfolding scene before him.

"Loki, run," mouthed Thor.

The shadow grinned. His spear did not miss this time.

Fenrir attacked. In a swift motion, he withdrew the spear from Thor's writhing body and drove it into the wolf's neck. The wolf howled in pain and fell heavily on the floor.

"It is done," said the shadow, stepping over Thor's lifeless body.

Loki shuddered. His head was throbbing, his blood cold, and his breath caught onto something sharp. His vision started to blur as tears filled his eyes. He choked on a cry that came out as a laugh. Then he laughed. And laughed.

"You have chosen a different path from me," said the shadow, "but all threads lead to the same fate.  _Ragnorak_ is coming."

The shadow disappeared.

* * *

 

"I should be dead," murmured Thor.

"You are," came a familiar voice.

Thor sat up with a jolt and saw a woman sitting on a throne of bones. Long hair, green dress, she looked older, but she certainly was...

"Hela?"

"Welcome to Hel, Uncle Thor," smiled the woman.

Thor touched his chest where the spear should have pierced. There was no sign of what had happened a moment ago.

"Mjolnir is over there," said Hela, pointing towards a cave behind her throne. "Go reclaim your power and your memories."

The cave was dimly lit by the ground, the magic in the stones glowed like stars branching out across a dark sky. He followed, a low thrum in the air tugging at him. Mjolnir, his hammer, lay waiting at the end of the trail. He curled his fingers around the handle and power coursed through him. His regal armour was returned to him, as well as his memories.

Something lay under the hammer; a spell carved in the ground. He lifted his hammer high, and smashed the spell apart, freeing what was trapped underneath. A surge of green light cuts through the broken ground, shooting out of the cave past him and into the fathomless skies above him.

When he returned to the entrance of the cave, a large black wolf was waiting for him.

* * *

 

Tony blasted at the Loki impostor and cursed when some giant blue dude in a loincloth clamped his sides and tossed him against the barrage of generators. The impostor had broke his phasing generator and the barrier containing the alien creatures crumbled. Creatures of all manners were spilling out and each one stronger than the last.

Grey was busy kicking at the creatures with all eight legs. He didn't speak horse so it was hard to talk to Grey at the moment. Jarvis had politely informed him that Thor was down and the Loki that came at them now had the same energy signature as the portal.

The Loki he knew stumbled onto the roof, his hands covered in blood and looking very pale. The shadow looked at him and shook his head, "You are a pitiful sight. Do you still wish to fight?"

"No," said Loki. He looked tired. "As I am now, I am powerless."

"Then wait there and let me bring you the glory and power you have lost," said the shadow, looking pleased. He gripped his spear and gathered the power to widen the portal further, letting all manner of creatures come in by the hoards.

Tony knew he had to work fast. If he could just get his phase generator set up again he could get the barrier contained. Thanks to the portal being expanded, the energy around it burned like a candle on both ends, if he could just push everything back in and phase out the energy waves on this side of the portal, it should collapse into itself on the other side. It'd be easy. All he needed to do was stuff all these aliens back into the rip they came from. It could be easy, if they weren't swarming around him now and trying to tear his metal limbs apart.

"I definitely could use some help," he yelled.

Storm clouds gathered and thunder rolled above him. Glass shards went flying as Mjolnir smashed the remaining walls that separated the roof from the penthouse.

Thor came charging in, flying towards the portal and thunder burned every single creature in his path into dust.  Large jaws clamped around Tony's middle and he was yanked out from the mass of dark swarming creatures. Tony struggled and spluttered as he thought something was devouring him but he realised it was just Fenrir. He patted Fenrir on the muzzle and sighed, "Hey, thanks. You know what, I'll promise you a lifetime supply of Stark Inc. toys."

Fenrir spat him out onto the ground next to Jormungandr.

"I won't take back what I said, but you really need to be more gentle with people," grumbled Tony. He rolled back to his feet. Thor was done with the crowd control and was facing the Loki lookalike. He guessed his time in the spotlight was over and resigned to getting the final equipment ready for closing time.

"Back from the dead so soon?" said the shadow Loki. He summoned a barrage of ice knives, only to have them clatter around Thor's feet, unmoving.

"He's here to stay," said Loki. He was on his feet once more. His wounds were healing, his dislocated shoulder shifting back into place. Green flames flickered in his hands as he summoned ice and fire against his double.

"This will only make things easier for me," sneered the shadow. He gathered shadow itself in his hands. "Our  _seidr_   resonates with the other. It will not work—" he was cut off by a dagger through his chest.

"You were saying?" grinned Loki as another dagger pierced the shadow's lung.

"It can't be..." whimpered the shadow. "Lightning..."

"Daggers forged from ice and thunder itself," said Loki. "My power will not resonate with yours."

"Your  _seidr_   reeks of the Odinson," growled the shadow, coughing up blood and drawing into himself. He backed away as Loki's fingertips crackled with power.

"This is for hurting Fenrir," said Loki.

He grabbed hold of the shadow with lightning barbs and flung him in the direction of the portal. He could hear the frequency of his shadow's energy and wrapped every sound of his counterpart in crackling lighting. The thunder that rolled in the cocoon of light was phasing out the shadow's own energy. Cracks appeared on the shadow's skin. He howled, a broken puppet fueled only by rage.

Loki looked over to Thor jerked his chin at the shadow. "And this is for you, Thor. Strike true."

Thor nodded and threw Mjolnir at the shadow, following the shadow right into the portal. The portal, losing all support, began to collapse into itself. Mjolnir was back in Thor's hand just before the portal sealed shut.

Loki turned and went to his children, healing Sleipnir's scrapes and bruises.

"You can't turn back?" Loki asked the wolf, who whimpered. Loki shook the last of the lightning off his hands and a familiar green energy filled him once more. The world smelled different with his magic now restored, and he looked livelier than before. "I'll weave the shape-shifting spell once more, but it'll take a few days," explained Loki. The wolf nudged him.

"Be patient," scolded Loki. The wolf lay down on the ground snorted.

"Daddy," spoke Jormungandr. "Here is your ring."

Loki took the ring from Jormungandr and slid it back on his hand. He kissed both his children on the head, "Thank you."

Sleipnir, back in human form, rolled his eyes at Loki, who noticed it and hurried over to the young man and teased, "why, do you want a kiss too?"

Tony cleared his throat. "Ahem, now that the whole mess is over, I'd appreciate some sort of explanation from you lot. Maybe not today. I'm going to sleep. And then I'm going to wake up and my building's going to be fixed and cleaned and everything will be just as before." He tiredly dragged himself away from the crackling mess.

"We have a lot of cleaning up to do," said Thor, looking around him as he walked up to Loki.

"I can see that," said Loki, his eyes never leaving Thor. "Do you suppose it can wait?"

"I don't see why not."

Loki pulled Thor in for that last step between them. Their hearts were racing and their breaths hot with the fires of battle slowly quelling in their blood. Their lips met and they savoured the heat on their skin.

"Do you remember everything?" asked Loki.

Thor nodded. "Without my memories, I had it easy. You..."  
  
"You lost everything when you decided to fall with me," said Loki, his hand touching Thor's lips. "Ever noble, son of Odin, you'd do anything to save the world."

"All that work to save  _you from yourself_ ," said Thor. He snorted in his attempt to stifle a laugh.

The serious moment ruined, Loki groaned, "Let us not speak of this anymore."

"Aye," chuckled Thor.

"So, what do you want to do now?" asked Loki.

"What do you mean?"

"You could return to Asgard. Mother can explain what you have done and you will be exonerated of aiding my escape. The throne is waiting for you, as is the glory of saving the nine realms from a dismal end."

Thor rubbed his chin for a moment. He shook his head and said, "I think it's fun to stay a little longer. Besides, I believe I have mastered Midgardian colloquial speech."

"You're far from being a master," said Loki. "Will you still be making mediocre coffee?"

"And you, music?" said Thor.

They were close enough for Loki to request another kiss, and Thor freely gave it to him.

The skies were clear. There were no more looming shadows, no more clouded minds, no more secrets.

 

* * *

 

Tony walked into his private dining area and welcomed the smell of coffee waking his half-dead brain. The spacious lounge next to the kitchenette and the dining table seemed different from usual. Hmm. Kitchen, counters, small table with four chairs, spacious lounging place with sofas, piano. Piano? He didn't remember moving the piano into this room—

"Hey, who put the piano here?"

"Have you a problem with it?" said Loki, who walked from behind the counters with a mug of coffee in his hand. Wearing a turtleneck and pants, Loki looked very much at home, except this wasn't his home.

"Oh. So it was you," said Tony. He scratched his head and sighed. "Well, put it back after you're done with it or something."

"Good morning, Tony. Would you like a coffee?" Thor's cheerful loud voice made Tony's lack-of-sleep hangover worse.

"Um, sure. Why not?" mumbled Tony as he pulled out a chair at the dining table and sat down, rubbing his tired face with his hands.

Thor brought out a plate of muffins and set it down in front of Tony. "Breakfast?" offered Thor.

"Wow," said Tony. He took a bite of a cranberry muffin and it wasn't bad at all. He could get used to breakfasting with Thor.

Loki was warming up with a Moszkowski etude and the sound of the piano brought the children running into the room. He looked at them and grinned.

"Ready for a game of tag?"

Fenrir whooped. Jormungandr blinked twice and licked his lips once.

The first notes of Chopin's Minute Waltz signaled the beginning of an intense game of tag. The boys pretty much parkoured over all the furniture and although they kept away from the kitchenette, the dining table was not out of bounds.

Tony quickly grabbed his muffin and coffee and dodged behind the counter. Thor was looking pretty content with the scene in front of him, his elbows resting on the counter. Tony sipped his coffee and rolled his eyes at this strange picture of domestic bliss.

Fenrir was growling as they tumbled over the couch after Jormungandr who tripped.

"Tag!" yelled Fenrir, who hopped up and crashed into a chair as he ran the other way. Jormungandr, eyes narrowed and hissing, got back to his feet and gave chase. Before the piece ended, they managed to scratch the stuffing out from the couch, knock over the dining table and break the lamps. Tony watched on, trying to detach himself from what he was seeing and stay cool. It was really too early in the morning to order new furniture.

Just after the last note was played, Jormungandr tackled Fenrir on the floor. Fenrir squirmed and was about to get up when Jormungandr grabbed his brother's arm and sank his sharp teeth in.

"Ow!" shouted Fenrir, trying to shake his brother off. "He's biting me!"

Loki got off the piano bench and yanked Jormungandr off Fenrir. He calmly summoned a knife and handed it to Fenrir, who unflinchingly cut a cross over what looked like vampire fang marks and sucked the blood out. He spat on the carpet and Tony saw his blood was black.

"Hey, you okay? There's first aid kit in the cupboard," said Tony.

Fenrir licked his arm a few times and glared at Jormungandr, who was sitting on the carpet, sulking.

"Go wash your mouth out," said Loki, and Fenrir obeyed, walking into the kitchen, his bitten arm limp by his side.

Loki waved the mess away and the broken furniture was miraculously repaired. Tony felt relief wash over him. He definitely could use less excitement in the morning.

So who won?" said Loki.

"I did!" chirped Fenrir, running back into the lounge area. "He was late in tagging me."

Jormungandr hissed and slowly retracted his fangs.

"Jormungandr," said Loki. The boy looked away from his father's stern gaze. "Fenrir won the game fairly. You shouldn't have bitten him for that."

"Yeah. it hurts a lot," said Fenrir. His forearm was swollen and the skin was a blotchy purple and red.

Jormungandr looked at his brother's arm and winced. Tony winced as well because it looked really painful.

"Sorry," mumbled the boy. Loki picked up Jormungandr and carried him over to the dining table, which flipped back in place by itself. He set the boy down at the table and went over to Fenrir, who was grinning with his arms outstretched, waiting for his turn to be carried.

"You're getting too old to be carried, Fen," said Sleipnir, who woke up from the din and wandered into the room looking for breakfast.

"Never!" said Fenrir. He continued to lick his sore arm. An ice pack appeared in Loki's hand and he applied it to Fenrir's arm.

"Good answer," agreed Loki. "Come here, Sleipnir, and let Mother carry you."

"Spare me," groaned Sleipnir. He went to the counter and scarfed down the muffins Thor held out on a tray. "Thanks," he said with his mouth full.

The boys, now exercised and fed, were sent to their rooms to rest from yesterday's excitement.

"So, uh," said Tony. "If you could just explain to me what went on the other day..."

"Sure," said Loki. "I'll explain to you why your world was almost destroyed and how I saved it if you 'put my children through college', as your people like to put it."

"College? If it's money you want, don't you already have like, I don't know, the ability to pull cash out of your ass or something?"

"Where's the fun in that?" smiled Loki.

"I could always ask Thor instead," said Tony. "I'm not sure how much truth there will be in your words."

"The plans were all his," said Thor, not being helpful at all. "I barely knew half of what was going on."

"Fine, fine. I'll set up a college fund for all three of them," said Tony, throwing his hands in the air.

"Four," corrected Loki. "I have a daughter. So, what would you like to know?"

"Why don't you start from what happened since the last time I saw you?" said Tony.

"This could take a while," said Loki.

"I have all day," said Tony, propping his elbows on the dining table and cocked his head to Thor. "Hey, could you make more coffee?"

 

* * *

 

 _Moszkowski's complete etudes op.72 and op.92_  [ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvuWKrWBIwQ_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvuWKrWBIwQ)

_Moszkowski's etudes are a rather popular choice as warm up or study pieces for advanced pianists and students._

  _Chopin's Op.64 no.1_  [ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoX6ZTUd3Vo_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoX6ZTUd3Vo)

_The Waltz in D-flat major is also commonly known as the Minute Waltz. Chopin's biographer writes that Chopin was inspired by a small dog chasing its tail to write this waltz and called it "Valse du petit chien", meaning "The Little Dog Waltz"._

 

* * *

 

Loki settled in the chair and munched on a muffin.

"Well, shortly after I had returned to Asgard, both Thor and myself were summoned by Frigga. She had forseen a terrible future for the nine realms. After that, I came to Midgard and spent the last few years executing a plan to thwart that future."

Thor knew what Loki had omitted and thought it was better that way. He refilled the coffee machine with water and over the sound of the coffee dispensing, listened on.

"Right, thanks for the really brief summary. So where did that alien portal lead to?" asked Tony.

"A world alongside ours," said Loki. "It is a world like ours, except they have gone down a different path."

"Are you saying they're an alternate universe?" said Tony. "And if they had won, we'd be doomed?"

"Yes," said Loki. "They were wandering from one world to another, squeezing into any cracks they could find in the void. I'm sure quite a few worlds have already fallen into their grip. We are very lucky."

"That bad? So that other Loki who looked like you was really you from another world?" said Tony.

Loki gave him a wry smile.

Thor sat down beside Loki with fresh mugs of black coffee. "I'd like to know more about your children," he said.

"Yeah," agreed Tony. "I didn't know you had kids. Where did they come from?"

The change in subject softened Loki's face. "Fenrir, Jormungandr and Hela are from my union with Angrboda, a woman who had a similar goal to mine," he said.

"What goal might that be?" asked Tony.

"To see what sort of offspring such a union would beget," grinned Loki. "My children are wonderful, aren't they?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "One of them is a horse and the other a giant dog, from what I see."

"Sleipnir isn't Angrboda's. He's—" Loki put a finger to his lips, searching for the right Midgardian words, "—from a 'one-night-stand'."

"I'd sure like to see what the mother of an eight-legged horse looks like," said Tony, wondering if the conversation getting weirder by the minute.

Loki raised a brow and smirked. "You are looking at him."

Tony blinked.

"Loki is Sleipnir's mother," affirmed Thor. "But I have heard from Fenrir that you brought Hela here. Father once mentioned she cannot leave Hel, so how did you manage that?"

"Hela is unsuited for the realms outside of Hel," said Loki. "Her body cannot come here, so I took her spirit within me and shaped a vessel with my own flesh. Still, she could not stay here long and went back to Hel not long ago."

"Oh," said Thor. "So that was really Hela I saw."

"You died," said Loki. "Fenrir too. Hela brought you back. It was part of the plan."

"I see," said Thor. "Is Fenrir all right? To suffer such pain isn't easy for someone so young."

"He is fine," assured Loki. "He has been through worse and lived. That was why I had him watch you."

"I am sorry I was not much help until the very end," said Thor.

"There wasn't much you could do. Besides, your death was part of the plan."

"Wait," interrupted Tony. "You planned for Thor to die?"

"I had to have my shadow think that I was helpless so he would let his guard down," explained Loki.

"By sacrificing Thor and your own son?"

"I would sacrifice all of Midgard if need be," said Loki. "Tis a small price to prevent the end of our worlds."

Tony glared.

"Loki, don't provoke Tony," said Thor. He turned to Tony, "Hela brought us back from the dead. If it were not for her intervention, I would not have gone to Hel upon my death."

"All part of the plan?" said Tony.

Loki beamed. "It worked out wonderfully. Hela loves her brothers and uncle enough to send them back to Midgard in one piece. The shadow had not expected Thor to return."

That reminded Tony of the attacks Loki threw at his doppelganger and he asked, "I saw you did some boomy thunder thing on him. Did you steal Thor's move or something?"

"My magic was infused with Mjolnir's power at that moment. Still, none of that would have worked if I hadn't sealed away our powers and had the enemy think us wholly unprepared."

"What about Thor's memories?"

"He might have sought me out if he remembered me," said Loki. "I needed him to stay low for a while."

"That is some elaborate plan. Was I part of your plan too?"

"Of course," said Loki. "Jormungandr and Fenrir really wanted the latest Ironman figurines."

"All right. Just one last question," said Tony, feeling a little tired.

"Go ahead," said Loki.

"Why a pianist?"

Thor looked to Loki. Now that Tony mentioned it, he was curious too as to why Loki chose the piano over everything else.

Loki thought over it for a while. He had taken up music as a distraction from the pain of losing his magic. The music made time pass faster; it captured his feelings and released them in sound.  He enjoyed the harmony and the dissonance, the feel of his fingers hitting the keys and the pleasurable vibrations that went up his hands when the hammers struck the cords.

He realised his answer was simple.

"It's fun," he smiled.

 

* * *

 

After he saw what fate would lead them, he had to buy time.

Breaking Fenrir from his dark, dank prison and Jormungandr from his watery cage in Midgard's Bermuda Triangle was one of the first things he did.  Frigga, in her wisdom, had arranged for him to steal Sleipnir from the stables. Last of all, he and Thor went to Hela's realm and had requested she come with him. Then, he had both their powers sealed off, letting his own  _seidr_ slumber in the ground beneath Mjolnir. Without his powers, he had no presence, and if he was lucky, it would keep the other world unaware of him long enough for fate to change its course.

After that, all that was left was the hardest part: wait.

Having his children with him quelled the rage he had against the Allfather and Asgard, but the nights were dark and his memories of his fall darker. As the nights grew longer, he tried to occupy his mind with books but words could not soothe him. One day, he picked up a music score, and thought to try his hand making music. Music could lull even a dragon to sleep, as some legends go, and he had time to try.  The more he studied scores and played the piano, the more he found himself passing time with it. Before he realised it, his children too, enjoyed the company of the music he made in the night.

The darkness would never truly leave him, but it would not control him again.

 

* * *

 

A few minutes walk from Stark Towers, a small, simple cafe with a few tables looked out of place in a street where Starbucks dominated every corner. It was a lazy weekend morning and the coffee machines were up and running. Thor, satisfied that everything working, went to the door and flipped the sign to 'Open'. An hour passed, but so far there was just one customer: a little old lady who went into the wrong shop and got a free cup of coffee on him anyway for being the first one there. He sighed and sat at one of the tables, wondering what sort of pictures he could put up on the walls. Perhaps he had been too hasty; he hadn't thought much about the decor when all he had on his mind was getting the machines set up.

Tony told him he shouldn't worry about the start-up costs since well, in Tony's words, what are billionaire coffee-drinking friends for? Thor had insisted on keeping costs low, so the only things he allowed Tony to go all out on were the cutting-edge coffee machines. You can't go wrong with this model, Tony had said. It took Thor a week to learn to operate these, and by the time he was comfortable with the machines, he had lost the time to properly spruce up the place.

He stared at the player piano in the corner. Steve had given his player piano to the cafe, saying it would do more good here than it would back at Stark's. It did make the place feel warmer, and Thor wondered if he should go out and buy some flowers to put in a vase and pretty up the piano with it.

The door swung open and took him out of his thoughts. Thor stood up, and smiled at his second customer of the day.

Loki walked in, unwinding a dark green scarf around his neck and taking off a coat. He sat at a table near the wall by the window where he could see the passersby on the street.

"Good morning, sir. What would you like?" said the beaming barista.

"A cup of today's brew," said Loki. "And one of your most tasty muffins."

After the food was served, Thor pulled out a chair and sat down next to Loki.

"When's the concert?" asked Thor.

"Next Saturday," said Loki. "Are you sure you want to come? You'll need to bring crayons and a colouring book. The orchestra is terrible, especially with the Prokofiev."

"I'm there to watch you, not the orchestra," said Thor.

Loki blinked, caught by surprise at his honest reply.

"The muffin's getting cold," said Thor, getting out of the chair. "I'll heat it up."

"No, I'm leaving soon," said Loki, standing up as well. He walked over to the piano next to the shelves. "I'll play a piece before I go."

"But the piano's not tuned yet," said Thor.

"John Cage's 4'33," said Loki. He opened the cover of the player piano and adjusted the bench.

"What a strange name," said Thor. "What does it mean?"

"It's the duration of the piece," explained Loki. "I need you to stay quiet until the music ends."

Thor went to get a chair, but Loki grabbed his hand and sat Thor on the piano bench next to himself. Their bodies were touching and in the warmth of the cafe, the heat was becoming too much.

Loki put a hand on Thor's waist, and through the shirt, he could feel the heat of Thor's body.

"You're not playing—"

"Shh," said Loki. "The music's already begun." He took the chance to slide his hand under the apron and unbutton Thor's shirt. The rustling of fabric and his own heart beating drowned out the sounds of the street outside. He buried his nose against the side of Loki's neck and breathed in his scent.

Loki took a sharp breath as Thor fumbled with the buttons on Loki's jacket. With a wave of his hand, the jacket unbuttoned itself and Thor could hear Loki sigh in his ear. He unbuckled Loki's belt and eased his shirt out, sliding his thick hands around the warmth of his hips. He felt Loki shudder and then in a second, Loki too had his hands down Thor's swiftly unzipped pants.

Thor's hands stopped moving and Loki looked into Thor's eyes, asking for more. He parted his lips and Thor leaned in to kiss him. Loki tasted of cinnamon and coffee and desire.

When they broke off the kiss, Loki's eyes were half-closed, his breathing quickened. They were barely getting started and their bodies now craved more heat from the other.

Then, Loki withdrew his hands from Thor.

"Time's up," said Loki, catching his breath. He should be filled with mischievous glee at teasing Thor, but he too felt reluctant to leave. He cupped Thor's cheek in his hand and kissed his lips again.

"Tonight," promised Loki, "I'll come back before you close up."

"If you leave me hanging like that again, I will put salt in your coffee," promised Thor.

Loki laughed.

And Thor knew everything was going to be just fine.

  

* * *

 

 _4'33 by John Cage. As the name implies, this piano piece is 4 minutes and 33 seconds long. It's quite well known because it's a piece of silence. An orchestral performance of 4'33:_  [ _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY7UK-6aaNA_  ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY7UK-6aaNA)

_I'm sorry I used it as make-out music. OTL_

_Also, pl_ _ease don't be Thor and put fresh flowers or anything with water on your piano. The moisture is bad for the instrument._

 

* * *

 

Loki took off his ring and chanted a spell. He drew a circle of runes in his blood, made his offering to the underworld and began the summoning.

 After a while, a child appeared in the circle. Half her face was covered in patches of green and grey and she struggled to get up. Tony thought she looked really pissed.

"It worked!" said Fenrir. He ran over to Hela, grabbed her shoulder and licked her cheek.

"Why have you summoned me?" she demanded. Her hands and dress soiled by the blood on the floor, she looked rather scary.

"We missed you," said Jormungandr, joining in to hug her.

"I cannot stay here long," said Hela as she scratched her mottled arm. "This vessel is weak."

She looked pissed as Loki came over to pick her up in his arms.

"This is my daughter, Hela," introduced Loki. He seemed to be enjoying letting Tony see the smudges of blood on her hands and on his shirt.

"Hi, Hela," said Tony.  _I hope she likes toys._ "I don't suppose you like Ironman figurines?"

"He has a lot of ice-cream," said Loki.

Hela considered it for a while. "Bring the ice-cream. And the figurines too, if you have it."

"As you wish, princess," grinned Loki. She rolled her eyes, resigned to being carried around by the most annoying father in the nine realms.  _At least there's ice-cream,_ she thought.

"There are waffles too," said Sleipnir, setting the table and bringing out pints of Ben & Jerry's. He spotted Jormungandr trying to swallow a waffle whole. "Jorm! Chew your food!"

"Jormungandr. Listen to Sleipnir," said Loki. He put Hela down on the chair and scooped ice cream into a bowl for her.

"Hela, look," said Fenrir, rolling up his sleeve and showing his swollen arm, "Jorm bit me again this morning. Doesn't it look cool?"

"Jorm!" snapped Sleipnir. Jormungandr squirmed in his seat. "You could've killed Fen!"

"...but he bit me first," muttered Jormungandr.

"Jorm..." glared Sleipnir. Jormungandr looked away and chewed on his waffle.

"So he did," said Loki, agreeing with Jormungandr. "Fenrir, show me your arm."

Fenrir held out his arm and let Loki bandage it. Jormungandr's eyes narrowed and his tongue darted in and out when he saw how bad the bruising and swelling looked.

"I'm sorry," said Jormungandr, drawing into himself a little.

"I'll teach you some ice magic later so you can help Fenrir's arm heal faster," Loki said to Jormungandr. "When you bite Fenrir, you have to be careful. If you bite him in the neck or near his heart, it could take a long time for him to heal."

"Dad!" said Sleipnir. "Stop teaching him that it's okay to bite!"

"A little poison will do Fenrir's immune system some good," said Loki. "They can learn many things through a little rough play."

"I can't deal with you," said Sleipnir, tearing off his apron. "I'm going to school."

"I thought there isn't school on Saturdays?" said Thor, scrambling eggs to go with the waffles. Ever since they started breakfasting together, Thor slipped into the role of breakfast cook easily and Tony wasn't about to complain.

"Club meeting," said Sleipnir, grabbing a paper bag filled with muffins from the counter.

"I could teleport you there," offered Loki.

"No thanks," snapped Sleipnir. He gave Hela a hasty goodbye hug and made his escape.

Tony found his days to come filled with many scenes of domestic life shoved in his face. At first, he watched on, feeling the responsibility of making sure Loki wasn't up to anything evil, but after coming across Thor and Loki making out in the kitchen one too many times, he decided to breakfast outside with Steve where life was normal and less embarrassing.

It wasn't long after he read an article circulating on the internet about a new superhero in town: an eight-legged horse stopping street crime. There was a tabloid article reporting sightings of 'Nessie' off the coast, which he was sure was one of the residents in his tower.

There was one time where he walked into Loki trying to give Sleipnir the 'talk' with a magazine filled with pictures of horses. Loki was describing to Sleipnir in fond detail about his one-night romp with Svadilfari many years ago. Tony could not look at Loki in the eye for the next few days.

On another day, Frigga had come visiting with news of Asgard. Her sons danced a Strauss waltz with her and she had left some presents for her grandchildren. Tony had made a comment on how that sharp pointy metal things did not make appropriate presents for children.

Despite all the excitement domestic bliss had to offer, the best of all were the peaceful nights where there was just Loki playing the piano and Thor sitting close by his side, quietly listening as if the music would go on forever.

 

* * *

  

 _fine_  

 

_Da Capo?_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Characters belong to Marvel and Norse Mythology. Classical music to their respective composers.
> 
> Firstly, thank you so much for reading this fic!
> 
> Tempo Rubato was first inspired by @beingevil's series where Thor is a lawyer. You can find the fic here: [How I Met Your Father](http://archiveofourown.org/works/436590/chapters/742755)
> 
> @beingevil knows quite a bit about legal stuff and this had me thinking: "Why don't I write about a subject I kind of know about IRL too?' and the idea of Loki being a pianist took off. Given my inability to write decent AUs, I sort of tied the plot back to some alternate ending of the first Avengers movie. I didn't want to post an incomplete fic so I waited till I finished the story before I post it, but it took over a year...orz I ran out of energy to edit it properly so there's bound to be tons of mistakes, continuity errors, etc. *sobs*
> 
> Beautiful art of Thor and Loki with coffee from @pancakesprince [here](http://pancakesprince.tumblr.com/post/33904571997)


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